An Unholy Alliance : Athwart
by Avirra
Summary: AU - How Star Trek Beyond might have looked like if it had it occurred in the Mirror Universe. Sequel to my Mirror-verse takes on Star Trek 2009 (An Unholy Alliance) and Star Trek Into the Darkness (An Unholy Alliance : Into the Shadows). Rating due to language and occasional violence - nothing overly graphic.
1. Chapter 1

Kirk had been in an excellent mood for over a week. So far without drawing too much attention, he had colonies on two planets, had taken control of a space station, another Imperial ship and an older Romulan warbird that had been modified by a group of pirates. As Bones had pointed out to him, not a bad start at all to his future Empire.

The newest set of orders to arrive brought him back down to reality. Were they a sign that the Emperor or one of his lapdogs had noticed something was amiss? He read through everything a third time before activating the recorder for his log.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.249

An amendment has come through to our orders. We are to take our findings as well as the remains of the ISS Miranda to the Yorktown station. She's the biggest and newest station the Empire has, but why there? There are plenty of stations far closer to us. Then I open the 'For the Captain's Eyes Only' section - I have to pick up some artifact and use it to broker a peace between two warring factions.

I don't see why blowing both sides up isn't the first option. More efficient.

* * *

Turning the recording off, he next called the Bridge.

"Kirk to Navigation."

Chekov's voice came back immediately.

"Navigation reporting, Captain."

"Plot out a course for the Yorktown station. I will be on the Bridge shortly."

"Aye, Captain. Right away, sir."

Closing off the comm without further comment, Kirk's eyes flashed back to the message again. Him a peace broker? He was the command office4r of a war ship - the figurehead of the Imperial Fleet. Why were they wasting his time with this dreck?

Still feeling aggravated, Kirk pulled out one of his daggers, idly testing the edge on the blade as he thought. He had always wanted a better look at the Yorktown station, but had never thought of a semi-reasonable excuse to go so far off the Enterprise's route. Oh sure, he had gone off route plenty of times and over greater distances, but the arrival of the Enterprise at the Yorktown would not have gone unnoticed and, more importantly, not gone unreported to the Emperor.

Pleased as he was to have the Persica station, it was around a tenth the reported size of the Yorktown. Not as big a difference as say the moon to the Earth, but it was still a considerable difference. The Enterprise could fully dock inside the Yorktown rather than at an external dock as the Persica required.

Closing his eyes briefly, Kirk drew a deep breath. Some day. Some day, the Yorktown and so much more would be his to command, but for now, he needed to concentrate on today. Resheathing his dagger as he got to his feet, Kirk adjusted his uniform belt and headed for the Bridge. Time to issue a few orders and after that? Time to claim the company of his consort. The trip to the Yorktown wasn't going to be a quick one and he could think of several better ways to pass the time than sitting on the Bridge and watching the stars go by.


	2. Chapter 2

Stepping onto the Bridge and all of the crew snapping to attention was something that never got old for Kirk. Spock was standing at attention beside the Captain's chair he had just vacated. A quick salute from Kirk and a short 'as you were' had everyone settling back at their stations.

Spock alone remained in position as Kirk moved to his chair.

"We have new orders, Captain?"

"Indeed we do, Mister Spock. We are to take the remains of the ISS Miranda to the Yorktown station. Mister Chekov, do you have the course plotted?"

Chekov straightened his back as he swiveled his chair slightly.

"Aye, Sir. The course is being routed to your PADD for approval."

Spock remained silent as Kirk pulled up the navigational information and approved it.

"Very good, Mister Chekov. Set the course. Mister Sulu, take us ahead, warp factor two."

After the orders were given, Spock finally spoke up.

"Orders sending us to the Yorktown station seem illogical, Captain. It is very likely the station furthest from our current coordinates."

"I am in full agreement with you, Mister Spock. The orders lead me to believe that the Emperor must have something in that sector that he wants our ship to handle.

There was a brief pause as Spock considered that possibility, then he nodded.

"That would appear to be the most reasonable assumption taking into account the information currently available to us, Sir."

Kirk accepted a PADD from his yeoman, glancing it over and signing it before rising back out of his chair.

"Since our current orders have us going from point a to point z, I will leave the Bridge to you for now, Mister Spock. I will be in my quarters."

"Yes, Captain."

A small smirk appeared briefly on Kirk's face. He knew full well how much the Vulcan relished the opportunities he had to sit in the Captain's chair and since he could indulge both his own and Spock's desires at the same time, why not? Taking his leave of the Bridge, Kirk headed for one of only two places on the ship where the personnel weren't required to stop what they were doing and come to attention. The second area was Engineering, but the first and his destination was Sickbay.

As always, Kirk admired the precision as the Sickbay doors opened. Every nurse in the vicinity shifted just enough to view who was coming in and each one of them had a hand hovering near a weapon of some sort until they recognized their Captain. Kirk smiled as he spoke.

"As you were, ladies. I need to speak with Nurse Chapel."

She had apparently been close enough to hear because she came out of one of the side rooms immediately, strode within five feet of him before coming to attention and saluting.

"Reporting as requested, Sir."

"At ease. I simply needed to inform you that I will be removing Doctor McCoy from your midst for a few days, barring emergencies, of course. I am trusting you to be the judge of what constitutes an actual emergency."

The smile in Chapel's eyes never reached her lips, but it rarely did unless a cadaver was involved.

"Yes, Captain. You'll find the doctor in his office, Sir."

Kirk gave her a saucy grin in response and headed for his CMO's office. Once there, he remained in the doorway, watching. McCoy's full attention seemed to be on the PADD in his hand. At least, that was the illusion before he spoke.

"Standing there and staring at me is a bit creepy, Jim."

Laughing, Kirk came in enough for the door to close behind him.

"Wrap things up, Bones. You're taking a couple of days off."

Blinking, McCoy finally looked up from his PADD.

"I am? What's the occasion?"

"Imperial Starfleet is sending us clear across our territory and sitting on the Bridge watching a whole lot of nothing passing by seems a waste when I have far more interesting things to spend time on. So, what had your attention?"

Gesturing with his PADD slightly, McCoy then turned it off and laid it on his desk.

"Test results on a new poison that Franca and I have been working on. Paralytic, but one that won't interfere with heart rate or respiration. Not quite fast acting enough, but we can work on that."

Nodding his approval, Kirk herded McCoy out of Sickbay. That was one thing he liked about both his Chief Medical Officer and his Chief Engineer. They were both constantly looking for the next thing rather than being content with things simply working.

Once they reached his quarters, Kirk motioned McCoy toward the bar.

"Pour us a couple. I'll be with you as soon as I take care of my log."

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.252

Traveling all the way to the Yorktown station will take the better part of a week, so I'm pulling Bones from Sickbay rotation unless an emergency crops up. If I'm going to have to play nice with a bunch of bureaucrats, I need a good dose of relaxation beforehand if they prefer me not to break any necks.

* * *

"Jim?"

Looking slightly annoyed at the interruption, Jim paused his recording and looked over, annoyance fading at the expression on McCoy's face.

"What if that's the point, Jim? The Admiralty knows very well about your temper. What if they're putting us in this situation because they'd prefer that you deal with them that way?"

Kirk opened his mouth, then closed it again as his brow furrowed. Accepting the drink he was handed, he swallowed down half the glass before restarting the recording.

* * *

Listening in to me recording, Bones remarked that the higher-ups might be sending us because they'd actually prefer a few snapped necks. I suppose I should figure that out before the meeting.

* * *

Signing off on his log, he downed the rest of his glass before holding it out for a refill.

"That was a very good question, Bones. For now though? Drop the doctor and advisor duties and concentrate on your consort duties."

An hour later, Kirk leaned back against his pillow in lazy satisfaction. That was another thing he appreciated in McCoy - the ability to devote all of his energy to whatever task was at hand.


	3. Chapter 3

in all, Kirk's brain allowed him nearly twelve hours of relaxation before it kicked back into gear. He fidgeted enough that McCoy finally woke, gave him the evil eye - or more like, in his case, the evil eyebrow - and got up to take a shower. Kirk knew without having to look that waking McCoy early meant that part of his water rations were going to be used for a long, hot shower. That didn't bother Kirk since the hot shower would go a long way toward alleviating McCoy's bad mood.

Moving to his replicator, he made sure coffee would be ready when McCoy came out after he removed his own cup. Sipping the hot brew, Kirk began pacing as he sorted through his thoughts.

If this was a serious attempt to broker peace, there were literally thousands of beings more qualified to act as a go-between in both experience and temperament. He scowled at himself. He was slipping. Ulterior motives should have been one of the first things to come to his mind instead of the inconvenience.

Despite past threats to spend several hours in the shower, McCoy rarely spent even five minutes. Towel wrapped around his waist, he went straight to the waiting cup of coffee, drinking half before looking at the still-pacing Kirk.

"So, what the hell has you restless this damn early when neither of us have to be on duty?"

"You."

"Me? I beg to differ. I was happily sound asleep until someone woke me up."

Kirk made an impatient gesture with his coffee, nearly sloshing it out of the cup.

"Not anything you did, Bones. What you said last night about them picking me for this job "

McCoy picked a chair and sat down, still nursing his coffee.

"No offense to you, Jim, because you have shown you can side-step with the best of them, but this sounds like using a cannon to hunt pigeons. For a ship the size of ours to be pulled for something like this, there's got to be something more involved they aren't telling you. That's just my opinion, of course."

"Your opinion agrees with my intuition, Bones."

Finishing off his own coffee, Kirk took a moment to gather his thoughts before starting his log recording.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.255

Ever since Bones made a remark about the higher-ups possibly having ulterior motives, I can't stop thinking about it. Why **would** they send us? Is this an elaborate assassination attempt? Or, since our crew is both highly profitable and very popular, is it a mission set up for us to fail to take some of the shine off?

I need to pull our core group together to discuss this. Maybe I'm being paranoid and putting too much thought into this, but my guts are saying we've got a serious problem.

* * *

As Kirk ended the recording, McCoy nodded his approval.

"Any time that you've ignored that inner paranoid voice of yours, we've all regretted it. You may not want my opinion, but here it is anyway. Call the meeting for as soon as Alpha shift lets off. You aren't going to get any rest until we hash this out and I'm not spending our downtime watching you fret and fume."

Snorting at the way McCoy phrased it, Kirk considered the advice for a moment before nodding.

"You're right. The sooner, the better."

Striding to the ship's intercom, he activated the device.

"Attention. Commander Spock, Lieutenant Commander Scott, Lieutenants Uhura, Sulu and Chekov : report to the Command level briefing room at the end of Alpha Shift. Kirk out."

McCoy got to his feet again, starting to dry off again as he gestured to the bathroom.

"Go get cleaned up and I'll have us something to eat ready by the time you finish. Don't need to try and listen to you over a growling stomach."

"That's Scott's stomach that growls, not mine."

"Wrong. Your stomach growls, Scotty's stomach roars."

Laughing, Kirk conceded that and headed for the shower. After taking another minute to dry off, McCoy tossed the towel into a chair and grabbed a pair of pants, slipping them on as he debated what to replicate. First thing was more coffee. McCoy wasn't going to fool himself and believe that there would be any more relaxation until after the meeting.


	4. Chapter 4

After Alpha shift ended, the core group entered the briefing room at practically the same time. What they saw immediately clued them in that, whatever the situation was, it was not good. Not only was Kirk pacing, but McCoy was finishing up setting up coffee and tea around the table along with what he had termed brain food at previous lengthy meetings.

With remarkably little noise, they each took their seats and waited for Kirk to begin. They didn't have to wait long. As soon as the last of them was seated, he stopped pacing and headed to the table, taking his seat between Spock and McCoy.

"Alright, people - listen up. I'm about to read off both our official and unofficial orders and then, I want your input."

During the reading of the official part of the orders, there was both grumbling and exasperated noises. But when Kirk began to read out the unofficial orders, the room went silent except for Kirk's voice and the silence remained after Kirk finished. Picking up his coffee, Kirk took a long sip before looking around the table.

"Chekov?"

"It does not sound right, Captain. This sounds far more like a mission for the Imperial Diplomatic Core."

Scott didn't wait to be called on and spoke directly to Chekov.

"While that's true, lad, our ship was the main one used in the treaties between the Empire, the Klingons and the Romulans. Perhaps they're going by our success there."

Shaking his head, Chekov continued.

"While that is true, Mister Scott, that was due only to the direct requests for our presence by the Klingon and Romulan representatives. I recall the Diplomatic Core was unhappy with our being the Empire's representatives instead of them."

"When isn't the Diplomatic Core unhappy?"

Sulu's observation caused a few chuckles before silence fell over the group again. Kirk only allowed that to continue for a minute.

"Spock?"

Steepling his hands, Spock replied immediately.

"My conjecture would be that our success rate has risen to the point that some of the Admiralty are concerned about keeping us in line. A failure to complete a mission might give them a reasonable excuse to interfere with the running of our ship."

"Uhura?"

Running the edge of one of her blood red nails along her lower lip, Uhura spoke slowly and thoughtfully.

"I can see two scenarios that seem equally valid to me. One - as Mister Spock suggested, we've gotten to where we look too good for the liking of the Admiralty and they want to give us a diplomatic mission that is likely impossible to negotiate in order to take us down a notch or two."

Kirk nodded. That scenario was the one he thought likely as well, but he wanted to hear the rest of Uhura's thoughts first.

"And your second scenario?"

"My second one is a bit nastier. We're the highest earning ship - that gives us more clout than other ships. What if we're being given an easy diplomatic mission and plan to use our success as an excuse to assign more and more of those missions to us? Diplomatic missions have very low payoff and our earnings would fall dramatically."

That line of thought caused a good deal of rumbling around the table, then Scott spoke up.

"This could also be an assassination attempt against you, Captain."

Kirk noticed that McCoy nodded along at that suggestion.

"Wouldn't exactly be the first time the Admiralty took a captain off of a ship that way, Jim."

"I don't know, Bones. Seems like an awfully roundabout way to do it."

Spock spoke up again.

"If you are currently in favor with the Emperor, the Admiralty would not want to take direct action against you and draw his displeasure on themselves."

Once Spock stopped, McCoy added on.

"Wouldn't be the most convoluted plan they've hatched either."

Conceding that point, Kirk refilled his coffee before reaching for something to eat. The rest of the group took that as a signal and began to eat as well.

The think tank session continued as they ate together, but the only thing they could all agree on was that this mission was far from straightforward. There had to be some underlying purpose behind it. If there wasn't one, then there would have been no reason to assign it to them.

Silent for far longer than was usual for him, McCoy finally spoke up.

"You read out everything you received, right?"

Looking slightly put out by the question, Kirk gave the doctor a sour look and a curt nod - McCoy ignored the sour look.

"That means that we haven't even been given the names of the races that we're supposed to act as go-betweens for. We can't even being to guess what the current state of relations are or what might have happened to past diplomats. There wasn't even any indication of what that doo-hickey is that you're supposed to make use of. They could be handing us a bomb to deliver for all we know."

The back and forth continued for a few more minutes before Kirk raised his hand.

"I think we've reached the end of this meeting's productiveness. Everyone sleep on this and let me know if you come up with anything we haven't already covered. Dismissed."

Everyone with the exception of McCoy stood up and saluted the Captain before leaving the briefing room. Sighing, Kirk finished off his coffee before getting to his feet.

"Come on, Bones. We may as well get some rest ourselves."

McCoy was again uncharacteristically silent as he followed Kirk through the corridors and to the Captain's quarters. Once the doors shut, Kirk moved immediately to record in his log.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.258

One thing you can say about my core group is that there are very few things that they fully agree on. That being said, every single one of them agree with my guts that something is seriously amiss regarding this diplomatic mission we've been saddled with.

Nyota came up with an alternate theory. What if this mission is intended to make us look even better than we already do? If we end up tasked with mainly diplomatic missions in the future, our revenue would drop dramatically. Damn. I wanted less angles, not more.

* * *

Kirk turned off the recording and saw McCoy leaning against the wall with a small smirk on his face.

"You didn't really think it was going to be that simple, did you, Jim?"

Stretching, Kirk shrugged.

"No, not really. But a man can hope, can't he?"

Pulling off his uniform tunic, McCoy headed toward bed.

"Yeah, you need sleep. You're delirious."


	5. Chapter 5

At McCoy's urging, Kirk showered and then settled down to sleep. The sleep period didn't last very long though, as Kirk's brain was far too active. McCoy muttered something about a sedative, but Kirk wasn't concerned on that front. McCoy knew better than to drug him unless it came down to a question of his health and that wasn't currently a factor.

In a private area with no need to guard his back, Kirk took the rare opportunity to zone out his surroundings, pacing and muttering to himself as he reviewed everything his core group had said during their meeting. It was taking a bite from an apple that he couldn't remember being handed that brought him out of his concentrated thought. The soft music in the background told him that an apple wasn't the only thing that McCoy had snuck in.

Glancing around for the source of the music, he saw Alexander, the last of the Platonians, sitting unobtrusively in one corner, playing his lyre. Scowling to himself, Kirk turned to McCoy.

"How long has Alexander been here?"

McCoy remained seated, but extended a drink to offer Kirk.

"Nearly two hours. You ready to sit and talk yet or need to wear out the deck a bit more first?"

Huffing in mild irritation, Kirk took the drink and downed it before dropping into a chair near McCoy.

"I may as well give my feet a break. I don't think I'm any closer to figuring out who might be right about what we're facing."

McCoy was silent as he refilled Kirk's glass, but as he began to pour a drink for himself, he spoke slowly and thoughtfully.

"What if they're all right?"

Pausing with his drink partway to his lips, Kirk narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Explain."

Taking a minute to have a small sip of his drink, McCoy continued.

"I don't see where it would hurt anything to assumed everyone's right. Say this is an assassination attempt and everything else comprises the alternative plans in case the assassination attempt doesn't work."

Taking a slow sip of his drink, Kirk sat back and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he took another sip, then spoke.

"That actually makes sense. Send me into a situation where I could get killed so that it isn't an obvious assassination that might cause waves because we're a high profile ship. Then if I survive, they will try using how the mission went to further whatever agenda they have."

"That's how I see it."

Reopening his eyes, Kirk focused the bright blue orbs on McCoy.

"But how can we tell what their agenda is?"

McCoy shrugged.

"Hell, so far as I can see, that doesn't matter. Not at this point. Until you live or die from the assassination attempt, the other part doesn't come into play. Seeing what their next move is afterward is what should give us a hint of their end game. My advice, for what it's worth? Go into this mission and follow your instincts. Since they could possibly spin any outcome to what they want, you may as well go for whatever version looks best to you and we'll deal with the aftermath as it happens."

Swirling the liquid remaining in his glass briefly, Kirk glanced over to Alexander.

"Pause your playing for a moment."

Once Alexander obeyed, Kirk activated his log.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.261

I was pacing and muttering enough to get on Bones' nerves. He requested Alexander come into our area and play the lyre for us. Once I settled down, Bones started talking and advised that I assume all of the theories have merit and act accordingly. What if the mission really is assassination attempt that has options if it fails?

So - if it works, I'm dead and out of the way. If it doesn't, we can either be blamed or praised depending on what works best for whoever is after us. Sounds feasible.

* * *

Turning off the recorder, Kirk nodded back to Alexander, who began playing again. Kirk finished off the rest of his drink, then motioned for McCoy to join him.

"One of the nice things about having a surgeon for a consort. You know how to slice through to the meat."

Smirking, McCoy rose and moved over to Kirk.

"Does that mean I can coax you back to bed for a few hours?"

Getting to his feet, a smirk formed on Kirk's face.

"Most certainly. Hell, I might even sleep later. Much later."

In the corner, Alexander chuckled under his breath and continued to play.


	6. Chapter 6

Kirk managed to get a decent amount of sleep before his mind woke him up again. Leaving McCoy sleeping on the bed, Kirk headed for his shower, his thoughts revolving around the Yorktown as the sonics did their work.

Not bothering to dress first, he moved over and activated his log.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.264

Two days until we reach the Yorktown station. If it wasn't for getting a headache from calculating motives, I'd be looking forward to this. Persica is nice, but the Yorktown station is said to be as far past it in power and scale as the Enterprise is to a shuttlecraft.

I'd love to be able to get hold of her blueprints. It's a shame we can't take her over like we did the Persica station, but Yorktown has massive weapons and superior shielding. We wouldn't stand a chance.

* * *

As Kirk signed off from his log, he turned at the sound of McCoy's laughter. Frankly, it irritated him and his displease colored his tone.

"What's so funny?"

The obvious bad mood didn't temper McCoy's answer.

"You are. I swear, you're like a kid with a narrow-necked jar of candy in front of him."

The analogy was unexpected enough to throw Kirk from annoyed to puzzled.

"Huh?"

Figuring he needed a visual demonstration, McCoy held up a hand while he moved to the replicator, making a container like he had described, then using the Captain's stash of hard candies to fill it halfway.

McCoy slid his hand into the jar until his fingertips barely touched the candies.

"See? This is you. You've got the whole damn universe right within your grasp and you want to do this."

So saying, McCoy grabbed as much candy as his hand could hold. Then he tried to pull his hand out, but couldn't pull it through the narrow neck.

"Trouble is, when you try to grab too much at once, you can't get any of it. Now, if you apply a little patience?"

Opening his hand, McCoy allowed all of the candy to fall before reaching back down to pick up one and pulling it from the jar easily.

"All the candy is still there and it's still all for you. You simply need to take it a bit at a time."

Kirk considered then gave a wicked smile.

"What if I break the jar?"

Sighing, McCoy gave him an exasperated look.

"Yeah, you could do that. But you'll have ruined something that you could have made use of instead. You've never been wasteful. You've proven that by the allies you've gathered around you. Besides, break the jar and you make it easier for anyone else in the area to grab a candy as well."

It was that last argument that resonated with Kirk the most and he walked over to pick up the jar.

"So . . . the jar is sort of like the Emperor, holding everything together until I'm in position to take it. He breaks too soon and the Admirals nearby start grabbing as much as they can before I can reach it."

McCoy shrugged.

"Good a way to view it as any."

Putting the jar back down, Kirk reached out and pulled McCoy to him.

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around besides that body of yours."

That got earned Kirk a snort.

"You mean other than the fact that I'm the only doctor you'll allow anywhere near you?"

"Yeah, that too."

Before McCoy could respond, Uhura's voice came over the intercom.

"Bridge to Captain Kirk. You have an incoming message from the Yorktown station, sir."

Grumbling, Kirk pulled on his tunic before responding.

"Patch the message through to my quarters."

"Aye, sir."

McCoy stayed to the side as Kirk settled in front of the screen in his quarters as it came to life. Kirk was expecting the Yorktown commander or perhaps one of her representatives, but what he got was the image of Admiral Christopher Pike.

"Jim. Good to see you again."

"Admiral. This is an unexpected surprise."

Pike chuckled.

"What surprise is expected? And when it's the two of us, feel free to call me Chris. But let me get to why I called. Doctor Boyce and I are at the Yorktown Station as part of an inspection tour for the Emperor. I would like for you to save some time to meet with us."

Alarm bells were sounding in Kirk's head, but his tone and visage remained calm.

"Of course, Chris. I'm sure we'll have a lot to discuss."

Chuckling again, Pike nodded.

"I have little doubt. See you in a couple of days, Jim. Pike out."

Once the transmission ended, McCoy let out a low whistle.

"Just what this situation needed. Another variable."

Kirk remained silent for a moment, then activated the intercom.

"Kirk to Communications."

"Lieutenant Uhura here, Captain."

"Inform the others that we'll be meeting again when Alpha shift ends."

"Aye, Sir. Same briefing room?"

"Yes. Kirk out."

McCoy headed over to the table.

"Come on. Since we both seem to be up now, may as well have breakfast."

"Pancakes?"

The expression on Kirk's face as he turned around made McCoy break out in laughter.

"Sure - why the hell not?"


	7. Chapter 7

The core group knew, of course, that another meeting so soon after the last was not a good sign. Uhura had a good idea what it was about since she was the one that had patched the message through, but she hadn't so much as hinted to the other. To Spock's great annoyance.

At news that Pike was at the Yorktown station waiting on them, Chekov let out an audible groan and the others wore expressions that showed they also had misgivings about that.

Chekov was the first to speak about his thoughts.

"That is a very long way for the Admiral to have come for a meeting. It must be very important or something he does not trust to transmission."

Sulu looked edgy.

"Do you think the Emperor has figured out what we've been doing?"

As Kirk watched them, McCoy and Spock exchanged a long glance - seemingly communicating with eyebrows alone. After a minute of that, McCoy shook his head.

"Maybe, but my guess would be no. If he was suspicious, he'd want to bring us further into Imperial territory, not be sending us to the very edge where we'd have a better chance at evasion."

Steepling his hands together, Spock spoke after McCoy finished.

"I agree with the Doctor for that reason and one other. Were Admiral Pike aware that we would be arrested upon reaching Yorktown station, he would doubtless have tried to steer us away from that destination. His fate is too closely tied with our own."

Scott snorted.

"You me, if we go down, he goes down with us."

"I believe I said that, Mister Scott."

Uhura ran the back of her thumbnail across her lower lip as she thought.

"We already know that something is not right with this diplomatic mission. Aren't the odds in favor of him being there to pass along a warning regarding what the mission is really about?"

Kirk nodded. His own thoughts had been running along the same lines.

"That would be my guess as well. Perhaps he can give us some names to match up to these actions."

Chekov gave a cold, thin smile.

"That would be excellent. A known target to aim for."

The bloodthirsty tone made Kirk smile as well.

"Regardless of why the Admiral wants to see us, we'll know soon enough. Now that everyone's had a head's up on where we are currently? Dismissed."

All that meant was that the formal meeting was over. Instead of immediately leaving, beverages were ordered and they sat around exchanging ship's gossip and other items of interest. When Spock mentioned a science experiment that he felt McCoy would be interested in seeing, Kirk gave his permission for McCoy to spend some time in the labs as he was feeling the need for a little time to himself.

Once in his quarters, Kirk started up some old Terran music he was particularly fond of before starting his log entry.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.267

We will reach the Yorktown station tomorrow, but there is a new complication. Pike is waiting for us there. For him to come all this way, it must be serious. The fact that he would come personally and not even risk an encrypted message? Serious might not be strong enough of a word for whatever's wrong.

I suppose that it's possible that the Emperor has grown suspicious enough to order our arrest, but Bones and Spock believe that if that were the case, Pike would have warned us to avoid the Yorktown.

* * *

Turning off the recording, he increased the volume of the music and lowered the lights. Pulling out the bottle of Romulan Ale that had been a gift from the Empress, he tested the contents and poured himself a glass before settling into his favorite chair.

Pike wasn't stupid. Maybe this was about Pike figuring out that Kirk was aiming for the Emperor's throne himself instead of positioning himself to back up Pike's move for the throne. Taking a sip of the ale, he relaxed and closed his eyes. No use continuing to speculate. As he'd told the other, they would know soon enough.


	8. Chapter 8

When the Enterprise was getting prepared to drop out of warp, McCoy entered the Bridge and assumed the consort's position on the Captain's riser - an action that never failed to irritate Spock. Which was, Kirk mused, likely the reason that McCoy continued to do it on a regular basis. While his CMO and First Officer got along much better, they still loved to take subtle digs at one another.

Sulu's voice pulled Kirk back to the present.

"Dropping out of warp, Captain."

As the ship slowed to impulse power, the Yorktown station came into sight as Scott also came onto the Bridge. Leaning forward slightly, Kirk's eyes took on a gleam of desire.

"Increase magnification, Mister Chekov."

"Aye, Sir."

A moment later, the Yorktown's image filled the viewscreen.

Chekov gave the kind of sigh that one usually reserved for a lover. Scott grinned and came up behind Chekov, clearly of the same mind.

"She is a beauty, isn't she?"

Nodding agreement, Chekov's eyes never left the viewscreen.

"She is very impressive."

McCoy looked from Scott to Chekov as if they had lost their minds.

"That thing? It looks like a snow globe waiting for a kid to come along with a hammer."

Laughing, Kirk reached down and patted McCoy's shoulder.

"Way to ruin a moment, Bones. Don't worry - that's one snow globe that would take one hell of a big hammer to smash."

The magnitude of the station became more obvious as the Enterprise drew closer. Uhura hailed the station and permission was granted to enter.

The Enterprise had barely passed the outer hull when a call came in. It was an order from Admiral Pike for Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock and Chief Medical Officer McCoy to report to the Admiral's suite immediately after docking. McCoy glanced over his shoulder at Kirk. Whatever Pike wanted, he certainly wasn't wasting any time.

Leaving Scott in charge of their Lady, Kirk told Uhura to acknowledge the orders, then signaled for Spock and McCoy to follow him off the Bridge. Getting onto the Yorktown was only the beginning as they then had to take the station's internal transport system to reach where Pike was waiting. Fortunately, the orders had included coordinates.

Despite the fact that they were ordered to the Admiral's suite, it was apparent that it wasn't going to be a formal meeting when Pike opened the door out of uniform and motioned them inside.

"Good to see you all again. Come in."

As the door shut, Pike headed straight to a bottle of Romulan ale and began pouring. As usual, McCoy was the first to speak.

"That looks more like a commiseration pouring than a celebratory one. What's happened?"

Pike looked over to McCoy and snorted.

"You have a good eye for beverage pouring, Leonard. Grab a drink and a seat."

He waited until all three were seated before pouring his own drink and taking a seat. Looking at the sapphire liquid rather than any of them, Pike sighed, then said.

"The Enterprise is quite the darling of the populace. If you asked the average Imperial citizen to name two ships in Imperial Starfleet, one of those named would be the Enterprise. Hell, for a good fifty percent, the Enterprise would be the only named. Those outside of Starfleet tend not to remember the names of our ships."

Pike took a sip.

"Even more unusual, the citizens don't just know the name of the Enterprise, they know the name of her Captain. That's drawn attention. That's drawn jealousy. The plan is to dismantle the Enterprise - not the ship herself, but her crew."

Kirk frowned and took a drink himself before speaking.

"Are we talking assassinations, Chris?"

A dry chuckle came from the Admiral as he shook his head.

"Something far more insidious than assassinations, Jim - and far harder to evade. Promotions. For example, you will be offered a Vice Admiralty, Jim. The youngest Admiral in Imperial Starfleet stationed right here on the Yorktown. Grounded for good in the station furthest away from Earth. Spock would be elevated to Captain and transferred back to the Vulcan home world. Facing facts, Spock, we both know that despite your lineage. the pure-born Vulcans will never let you set foot on a ship again."

Kirk noted that Pike didn't mention anything about McCoy, but decided not to question that for now.

"This mission we've been called to do. Does it have anything to do with all this?"

That got a shrug as an answer.

"That is one thing I haven't been able to determine, but I can tell you that the idea of sending you came from the Admiralty and not from the Emperor. Now that one could be an assassination attempt. You have far more enemies than friends in the top ranks, Jim."

The smile that formed on Kirk's face was one that sent shudders down the spines of his opponents.

"That means I must be doing something right then."

The laughter coming from the doorway was what informed them that Boyce had joined the group. Pike waved him in, though he stopped to help himself to the ale on his way over to join Pike.

"Phil has been trying to find out more about this mission of yours. Any luck?"

"As bad luck is still luck? Yes. I don't believe that anyone at this station knows anything more about these people you'll be mediating between than we do. Sorry."

Kirk waved off the apology.

"You can't find what isn't there. The Admiralty tends not to tell anyone anything that they can avoid letting out. No offense, Chris."

Pike waved that off as well.

"None taken. I'd tell you to keep on your guard on this mission, but that would be rather redundant. Shall we eat?"

The remainder of the evening was spent in far more casual conversation, but when Kirk entered his quarters that night, it was the beginning conversation that was on his mind. He waited until McCoy was in the shower before he began his log entry.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.27

We were barely docked when the orders came through for Spock, Bones, and myself to meet with Admiral Pike. The meeting was to be held in the Admiral's quarters. Definitely not good news when Pike started by breaking out a bottle of Romulan ale.

The Emperor has plans to break up our team, but with an eye toward making it look like a reward. I will be offered the chance to become the youngest Vice Admiral in Imperial Starfleet, which would effectively ground me. Turning down an honor like that will be tricky.

* * *

Turning the recorder back off, Kirk sighed and put it out of his brain for the night. He and his crew would all need to be sharp and have their wits about them if they were going to come out on top in the end.


	9. Chapter 9

While he was eating breakfast, Kirk received another request for a meeting from Pike - this time for him alone. When he arrived, Kirk noticed that not even Boyce was there which raised his curiosity about what Pike wanted to see him for.

This time it was coffee poured for the talk. After passing one cup to Kirk, Pike sat with his hands wrapped around his own cup as if he was chilled. The pause wa long enough that Kirk's patience was nearly at the end when Pike double checked the setting on his communicator for the jamming frequency then finally spoke.

"I've been talking with Phil and he's of the opinion that I need to be upfront with you. Being in the Admiralty has taught me one thing I didn't know about myself. I can do the political maneuvers, but I don't enjoy them. In fact, they irritate the hell out of me. You, on the other hand, seem to thrive in that sort of environment. Could I do the Emperor's job if it came down to it? Yes. Would I ever enjoy it? The power? Sure. The rest of it? No."

Pike looked up then and saw Kirk watching him intently with those laser blue eyes, not saying a word or even moving. A smile quirked briefly on Pike's face before he took a sip of his coffee.

"Well, to make a long story short, I know where you're aiming for and so long as you can give me a promise of something interesting to do and the ability to keep Phil by my side, I'll back your move in any way I can when you want me to. For me, the aggravation of the details isn't worth the power."

Remaining quiet, Kirk sipped his own coffee without giving any indication of how he thought about what Pike was offering. It wasn't until he had completely drained the cup that he spoke.

"Before this goes any further, we need to meet as a group. At least yourself, Boyce, me, Bones and Spock. Maybe another one or two of my crew as well. You talk it over with Boyce and get back with me tomorrow if you're willing to come aboard the Enterprise to talk."

One of Pike's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Why not here?"

Leaning forward, Kirk deposited his coffee cup back into its saucer.

"Quite frankly, there's nowhere on this station that I'd consider secure enough for the type of talk we need to have, jammers set or not."

Considering the meeting to be over, Kirk stood up and Pike rose as well.

"Fair enough, Jim. I'll contact you tomorrow."

Nodding as he left the quarters, Kirk headed straight for the Yorktown's science labs, where he knew McCoy was most likely to be. A smile formed as he saw he was not only right about McCoy's location, but noted that Spock was with him as well.

"Gentlemen? Finish up with whatever you're doing for now. I want to talk with you both - my briefing room - ten minutes."

As Kirk watched them, Spock and McCoy exchanged a glance before moving to put their work on hold. It was at times like that when Kirk almost regretted encouraging the two of them to work together. Now that they were more at ease with one another, it was as if they had developed a secret language that consisted solely of glances and eyebrow positions that no-one else was privy to.

Shaking his head at his thoughts, Kirk headed for his briefing room as he decided he needed a strong cup of coffee for this meeting. To his amusement, McCoy and Spock appeared to have similar thoughts, but their beverage of choice was tea and they had brought their own and a pot, using the replicator only for the hot water. That was another thing the two men found they had in common - a firm belief that replicator tea should be avoided whenever possible.

Kirk found himself receiving suspicious looks from both men as he simply sat and sipped his coffee while they finished the preparation of their tea. Good. He never wanted them to feel that they could predict what he was going to do next. He didn't speak a single word until they were both seated with their own drinks, but then he began without any preamble.

"You know Pike requested to meet with me. Seems he wanted to let me know that he no longer has his eye on the Emperor's throne, but he's willing to back my move when the time comes."

Spock's expression was open skepticism, but McCoy was thoughtful. The fact that McCoy didn't immediately scoff drew Spock's attention as Kirk questioned his silence.

"So - what are you thoughts on offer, Bones?"

"I think it's valid, Jim."

Spock turned slightly to face McCoy more fully.

"Might I inquire as to what would make you reach that conclusion, Doctor?"

To Spock's annoyance, McCoy answered his question with a question.

"How well did you know Rajinder Puri, Spock?"

"When he was associated with then Captain Pike, he and I had met, but I could not claim to have known him well."

McCoy nodded as that made perfect sense before he began to explain.

"Once he openly declared himself as my mentor, I spent a considerable amount of time with Doctor Puri, occasionally when Pike was around. Puri enjoyed politics and he was damn good at the game. My guess is that in Pike's original game plan, he was going to run the Empire like one huge ship with him as Captain and Puri would field what political maneuvering was called for in his name."

Picking up his tea, McCoy took a sip and waited until both Kirk and Spock had given a slight nod.

"Now, I only really know Boyce by our few meetings and by reputation, but he's generally known as a man that prefers everything straightforward. Generally speaking, politics make folks of that persuasion irritable. Taking that assumption out, I'm of the opinion that Pike noticed where Jim is aiming for now and bitched about it to Boyce. That likely led to a lengthy discussion of the fact that neither one of them had any interest in playing politics at the galactic level. In many ways, the power behind the throne is preferable to the power of the throne. For one thing, the main attention is on someone else - for another, if you earn yourself a place in the new regime, there's still plenty of power to be had if power was the thing you were actually after. Jim, on the other hand, has shown both an appreciation and a talent for the political arena."

Seeing that Spock was now leaning forward thoughtfully, Kirk motioned for McCoy to continue.

"Now we take into consideration that everyone who has seriously gone after Jim has failed. And not failed a little - failed spectacularly. And when Pike went against you, it was a pretty hefty fail as well. Add in the fact that you're the one known by name, face and reputation to the heads of the other two major Empires? That's a lot of pluses in your column and that's not even counting the pluses that Pike doesn't know about, though I'm sure he suspects there are items he's in the dark on."

A slow smile formed on Kirk's face.

"In other words, he's likely to have come to the conclusion that it's to his advantage to back the winning horse."

Saluting Kirk with his cup of tea, McCoy chuckled.

"Precisely."

"Spock?"

Steepling his fingers, Spock was quiet for a minute before responding.

"I fail to find any significant flaws in Doctor McCoy's reasoning, Captain."

The way Spock phrased it amused Kirk.

"What about insignificant flaws?"

Spock inclined his head slightly.

"Those are aspects that I cannot speculate on with any degree of accuracy because of my limited interactions with Doctor Puri in the past and Doctor Boyce in the present. I will say that my past observations of Admiral Pike do lend themselves to the same conclusion that politics irritate rather than intrigue him."

"So - your recommendation is to take him at his word?"

A smirk formed on McCoy's face.

"Within reason. Trust, but verify."

That made Kirk laugh, then he shook his head.

"I expect to hear from Pike tomorrow and we'll be setting up a meeting here with the three of us, Pike and Boyce. Both of you think it over and let me know if you think anyone else should be in on that discussion. For now, let's get something to eat."

After eating, Spock and McCoy headed back to their respective departments as Kirk went to his quarters. He had already removed himself from Bridge rotation until after the meeting with Pike, so he poured himself a small glass of Romulan ale before starting his log entry.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.271

Pike wanted some words with me in private. It has not escaped his attention where I have my sights focused - namely the same spot he had originally had his own sights focused on. After a series of lengthy discussions with Boyce, he has reached the realization that, much as he would love the power, he doesn't want the aggravation of the top spot.

I told him that before this discussion goes any further, I want a group meeting between him, Boyce, Bones, Spock, and myself. Time to lay our cards on the table.


	10. Chapter 10

Pike sent a message to Kirk shortly after breakfast. Doctor Boyce had a meeting that he had already agreed to that would be awkward to back out of, so the group meeting would need to be postponed a day if Kirk still wanted to hold it on the Enterprise - which was non-negotiable so far as Kirk was concerned. The delay wasn't of any concern to him as they still had two days to wait before the scheduled arrival of the artifact needed for the peace negotiations. Not for the first time, Kirk wondered about this so-called artifact and wondered why, if it was of such significance, the Fibonans didn't simply present it to the Teenaxi themselves.

Even thinking about the upcoming mission made Kirk want to roll his eyes and sigh. Yes, this entire mission was most likely a far-too-elaborate trap and they would need to pit their ingenuity against whatever was planned, but it still felt like an enormous waste of his time.

McCoy was busy due to an Engineering mishap, so Kirk decided to explore the Yorktown on his own, out of uniform. It always amazed him how many people didn't recognize him when he was in casual clothes, but he also had to admit that he didn't carry himself as a captain when he wasn't in uniform. Really, the non-recognition was for the best. None of the best gossip came out when people knew an Imperial officer was close by.

This and that rumor reached his ears along with a few wild conjectures about the nature of the Enterprise crew. For the most part, those amused him since most of them made his crew sound like complete bad-asses. One intriguing tidbit was that the reputation of McCoy's nurses had gone beyond the ship's crew.

Kirk was carefully nursing a glass of whiskey and pretending to be preoccupied with a scantily dressed server when one comment caught his attention. The slightly drunk man was bragging about the ship he was one of the builders of. The next generation of Imperial Starship that would leave the ISS Enterprise in its dust like a garbage scow. At that moment, Kirk was very tempted to deck the man that had insulted his ship, but he reined in his temper and kept listening. The man was drunk enough that it might be nothing but empty bragging, but if it was true?

Taking a sip of his drink, Kirk began to wonder where to go to find out more information without it being obvious that he was looking for more information. One thing was certain - after putting Kirk to all the trouble he was about to be going through, if it turned out the drunk was just bragging with no substance? Kirk would point him out to Scott and then tell Scott what he'd said about the Enterprise.

The very thought of how Scott would react to anyone comparing the Enterprise to a garbage scow brought a smile to Kirk's face. Decision made, he finished his drink. He would leave this bar, find Gaila and send her out to work the bars. Between her talents in engineering and her other natural gifts, the Orion woman could find out the information on this mystery ship for him.

Well pleased with his new course of action, Kirk indulged in a bar fight on his way out. The majority of the blood on him was someone else's which improved his mood greatly as he began his search for Gaila. Judging from the time, she would most likely be found shopping. He personally didn't see the appeal to trying on endless outfits and accessories, but to each their own.

As expected, he finally tracked Gaila exiting a shop. Less expected was the fact that three of McCoy's lethal nurses were with her along with Gem. Gaila couldn't hold back a chuckle when Gem spotted Kirk and dropped everything in her hands to rush over to him and check his injuries. While Kirk didn't consider his slight injuries worth fussing over, he allowed Gem to do as she pleased. For one thing, he genuinely liked the young woman. Not to mention, her healing him now meant he might be able to avoid a lecture from his consort about going out and looking for fights.

Gem's ministrations didn't prevent him from speaking and it didn't take long to convey what he wanted to Gaila. The thought of a new generation of starship being so close had the Orion engineer tantalized enough that she would have gone searching after hearing about it even without the Captain's blessing.

Gaila passed her purchases over to Paquita Lopez, who agreed to take her things back to their temporary living quarters before edging around Gem to give Kirk a kiss on the cheek and a promise that she would have results for him by the next day.

Once Kirk watched Gaila head off on her mission, he gently steered Gem off the street as the nurses headed back. He briefly considered ordering them not to tell McCoy about his wounds, but knew that would have guaranteed he would know about it within the hour. It was occasionally irritating that their first loyalty was to McCoy, but as the advantages outweighed the annoyance, he didn't bother trying to alter the status quo.

Gem didn't mind moving to a location off of the street and followed deferentially behind Kirk as he located a nearby spa where he could get cleaned up and repay Gem by indulging her with a bit of pampering. Not that he needed to reciprocate with her, but he found that he enjoyed spoiling her much as he enjoyed doing the same for McCoy. Besides, this would be an excellent opportunity to see if this was a place he might like to bring his consort to for a treat.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.274

There's no place on the Yorktown that I would consider secure enough for the type of meeting I have in mind, so Pike and Boyce will be coming aboard the Enterprise tomorrow before we get whatever artifact we're supposed to be taking to the peace negotiations. Even acknowledging that these so-called negotiations are likely a trap - and probably are going to be behind my being offered a promotion - it still feels like a massive waste of my time.

Interesting rumor that the Yorktown station is building the next class of starship.


	11. Chapter 11

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.275

After talking with Pike, I found Bones and Spock standing at an observation portal. Damn - the rumors are right. They've already started laying the hull for the next generation of starships.

It's suddenly making more sense why I'd be getting offered Vice Admiral. As top earning Captain in the fleet, it would be an obvious slap in my face not to offer me the newest and fastest ship.

Double damn. I don't want to be forced into showing my hand early, but I can't let the Emperor ground me.

* * *

Initially, Kirk had been a bit irritated that he'd had to go looking for Spock and McCoy, but once he got a glimpse of what they were looking at, all irritation faded away as lust took over.

The ship in the building dock was far from finished, but what was already there was beautiful - she was going to be a sleek and powerful vessel and Kirk found his mouth watering slightly as he stepped forward. To his amusement, neither Spock or McCoy turned around, but both stepped to the side in near perfect unison to make room for him between them.

There was an easy silence between them for several minutes before, as might be expected, McCoy was the one to break it.

"You planning' to cheat, Jim?"

That shocked Kirk out of where his mind was and he gave his consort an incredulous look.

"I have no plans to replace you, Bones."

McCoy gave an amused snort that drew in Spock's attention as well.

"Ain't talking about you cheating on me, Jim. I'm talking about you cheating on the Enterprise. I know I don't look at ships the way you and Scotty do, but even I can tell that one's going to be a mighty fine looking ship."

Spock chose to speak up as well.

"Indeed. I was allowed to view the specifications and this new generation of starship will be as far beyond the Enterprise as the Enterprise herself was beyond her predecessor."

Kirk's mouth was now watering enough to force him to swallow, but he covered it with an unconcerned shrug.

"Until she has more meat on her bones, the Enterprise has nothing to worry about. Come with me. We have business to discuss."

Despite the fact that he was the one telling them to leave, Kirk was the last to leave the observation portal.

The walk to the transporter station was made in silence. Pike and Boyce were already waiting for them and the five beamed aboard the Enterprise together. Once they were in Kirk's quarters, it didn't take long to fill McCoy and Spock in on the impending promotion and the consequences accepting - or declining - would cause. There was silence for a minute or two, then McCoy sat back. To Pike's amusement, both Kirk and Spock turned toward the doctor and waited for what he had to say.

"I look at this as something good to know, but it's too far in the future to do any serious worrying about, Jim. Any number of things could happen between now and when the offer is made, so I suggest we keep our attention on this crazy mission we're being sent on and put this other stuff on a back burner."

From Spock's expression, it was easy to tell he would be asking about the back burner expression later, but he refrained from questioning it and simply nodded his agreement. Kirk nodded as well and turned to Pike.

"So, Chris - you know where my goals are heading. Where are you seeing yourself?"

Pike's right hand formed into a fist as he settled his elbows onto the table. His left hand wrapped around the fist and his chin came to rest atop his joined hands before he spoke.

"Much as I dislike admitting it, I'm going to be more suited now to desk work, though I still want to be able to get into the Black on a regular basis."

The triumvirate exchanged brief glances before Kirk spoke.

"I'll need someone with a forceful personality to take the position of Admiral of the Fleet under me. Random ship and space station inspections would get you around as much as you'd like."

Pike was silent for a moment.

"I'd like Philip to stay my personal physician, but he's too good to be relegated to that alone."

Looking both intrigued and bemused, Kirk sat back.

"And what would you suggest?"

"Rajinder was of the opinion that we lose a lot of decent medical talent due to the fact that Imperial Starfleet's Medical is full of incompetent doctors who are little more than bureaucrats. Put Philip in charge and you'll get a medical department worthy of the fleet."

The firm nod from McCoy was all the validation Kirk required.

"Agreed."

Kirk then turned his attention to Boyce.

"The first thing you'll need to do when the time comes is find a strong second in command that you can trust to keep things in line while you're traveling with Chris."

A small half-smile formed as Boyce nodded.

"I already have a couple of candidates in mind."

Kirk grinning broadly and clapped his hands together.

"Excellent. Since we all seem to be in agreement, why don't we return to the station and eat? It will be our last chance for non-replicated food before we head out tomorrow."

Rising out of his seat, McCoy managed to keep a straight face, but he knew that part of the suggestion was Kirk's desire to keep Pike's time aboard the Enterprise to a minimum. Sure, the two could work together, but there was a part of Kirk that would never fully trust Pike again. And, in McCoy's opinion, rightfully so.


	12. Chapter 12

Everything had gone well enough at the dinner. McCoy and Boyce had a lot of views in common and seemed equally disinclined to tolerate idiots, so that boded well for their continuing relationship. The fact that Joanna had already shown her liking for Boyce didn't hurt either.

While McCoy was cleaning up, Kirk took a moment and made a short log entry.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.278

We have reached a mutually acceptable arrangement with Pike and Boyce. After I make my move, Pike will accept the position of Admiral of the Fleet. Boyce will continue as Pike's personal physician but will also take over the Imperial Fleet's medical training. Boyce is in full agreement with Bones and the late Doctor Puri that real medical talent is being discouraged or driven away by a bunch of no-talent medical bureaucrats.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Boyce does. He seems like a 'take no prisoners' sort to me.

* * *

"Me too."

Smirking at McCoy's comment, Kirk turned the log off, then picked up the peace offering he was going to be delivering.

"We knew before our second year that we'd stir things up a bit back at Medical. We just didn't know what stick we'd be using to do the stirring."

"Boyce isn't going to be a stick. He'll be a damn hurricane, Jim. Which is what will be needed. Clear the place out and rebuild from what survives. What the hell is that doodad you're playing with?"

Lifting the artifact with one hand, Kirk allowed McCoy to take it.

"That, believe it or not, is the artifact that we're supposed to be offering to the Teenaxi delegation on behalf of the Fibonans."

"Huh. Not exactly awe inspiring, is it?"

"Nope. The only thing I found amazing about any of this so far is that I've found a language that Uhura isn't fluent in."

"Yet. You know now that she's heard Fibonese, she's not going to stop until she learns it. So, exactly what is this so-called artifact supposed to be."

Taking back the artifact, Kirk shrugged.

"It's supposed to be a piece of an ancient weapon. Surrender of a weapon is their way of offering a truce."

A snort told plainly what McCoy's opinion of that was.

"Seems like a whole and working weapon being surrendered would be more appropriate."

"My thoughts exactly. I don't like that lack of information we have on either side. Meeting with the Fibonians almost makes me want to side immediately with the Teenaxi though."

Pouring out drinks, McCoy laughed.

"I remember you saying they could spoil a funeral. Still, so far as we know, the Teenaxi might make them look cheerful."

Kirk waited as McCoy, out of pure habit, scanned both drinks for poisons. Once the glass was passed over, he took a long sip.

"You're pouring the good stuff. That bad a feeling about this, eh?"

It was the doctor's turn to shrug.

"Same as you - I really don't like this many variables. Still, we'll do what we always do."

"And what's that, Bones?"

"Spot an advantage when it shows up and exploit the hell out of it."

Raising his glass, Kirk smiled.

"Here, here."

* * *

When morning came, Kirk got up carefully and left McCoy sleeping in their bed. Getting ready only took a few minutes and he was soon on his way to the Bridge. The slight thrill he always felt stepping onto the Bridge brought a smile to his face. While he wasn't enamored with their mission or destination, they were heading to a planet he'd never seen before. That was one thing that Kirk didn't think would ever get old.

"Mister Chekov - do you have our course laid in?"

"Aye, Captain."

"Mister Sulu, disengage from the dock."

"Authorization received from the Yorktown. Docking disengaged, sir."

"Once we're free of the station, ahead warp factor two, Mister Sulu."

For the next four hours, Kirk spent his time divided between handling the some of the never-ending stream of reports and simply enjoying his place in the Captain's chair. When he began to feel hungry, he turned the chair over to Spock and headed back to his quarters.

As expected, McCoy was not only awake, but was in the process of getting a meal ready for them both. While McCoy finished up, Kirk made another log entry.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.28

Pike and Boyce are back aboard the Yorktown and we're en route to Teenax. I should be thinking about my upcoming meeting with the Teenaxi delegation, but my thoughts keep going back to that beauty they're building in the Yorktown docks. While the Enterprise will always have a place in my affections, I admit to being fickle enough to be willing to leave her behind if I could get my hands on that new ship.

Scotty won't admit it yet, but he has his sites on that new lady as well.

* * *

McCoy shook his head.

"Fickle. Both of you. A new lady with shinier nacelles comes along and you're both panting over her like a hound over a pig ear."

Sitting down, Kirk just shook his head in amusement as he started eating, pleased to find it was one of his favorite meals - a real cheeseburger. The meat might not have come from a cow, but he could tell it was genuine meat and he ate every last bite with gusto.

"Delicious. You know, I think I might let Spock enjoy the chair a little longer and grab a nap."

Starting to clean up, McCoy shrugged.

"Why not? Not like anything pressing is going on. I'm going to make the rounds and check on my folks, then I'll be back."

Getting up with a stretch, Kirk headed over to the bed. His thoughts had been active enough that he hadn't slept well, so the nap was doubly appealing. Once McCoy headed out, Kirk took a moment to tell Spock he was going to get to warm the seat for a couple of hours longer. That done, he ordered the lights to lower and settled down to rest.


	13. Chapter 13

Kirk's automatic reaction to the lights going up to full strength was a curse followed by a demand,

"Turn those damn lights back down!"

The vast majority of the crew would have obeyed instantly. Unfortunately for Kirk, McCoy wasn't in the vast majority.

"You can nap again later, Jim. This is important. Get dressed."

The snarl in Kirk's voice became more pronounced.

"The hell with that. Just say whatever the hell you want to say then get the hell out and let me sleep!"

McCoy's response was to toss Kirk's pants at him.

"It's not me you need to be listening to, Captain."

It was the use of his rank that got Kirk to actually open his eyes. He was still scowling, but McCoy merely stood there and waited. Kirk finally let out a string of curses and grabbed the pants. By the time he had finished dressing, Kirk still wasn't happy, but he had downgraded from pissed to highly irritated.

For his part, McCoy headed for the door before Kirk was ready.

"Meet us in the conference room. I'll have coffee waiting on you."

It was only a couple of minutes later when Kirk stalked through the corridors, crewmen scattering out of his way right and left. No one wanted to be the unlucky one to draw the attention of an obviously annoyed Captain.

The inclination to yell as soon as he entered the conference room was dissipated when Kirk saw McCoy conferring with Uhura with Spock hovering nearby. Turning as Kirk entered, McCoy left Uhura side to guide Kirk to a chair where the promised coffee waited along with a slice of cake. The fact that McCoy was offering a sweet told Kirk immediately that whatever he was about to hear wasn't good - still, he wasn't about to turn down cake.

McCoy waited until Kirk had taken a bite of the cake and washed it down with coffee. Nodding to Uhura, he then took a seat near Kirk.

"Captain, as you are already aware, Fibonese is a language that I know little about. While I was off-duty on the Yorktown, I saw a group of Fibonians walking around and chatting with one another and took the opportunity to record them without their knowledge. It's taken me a couple of days, but I was finally able to translate what they were saying. It has direct relation to our mission."

A second bite of cake was swallowed and Uhura had Kirk's full attention when she continued.

"They were laughing and betting among themselves about how long it would be between your offer of their peace offering and when the Teenaxi attacked you. Not if - when. They already know our mission won't succeed."

Silence claimed the room after Uhura finished speaking and - as most of the crew of the Enterprise could vouch - a quiet James Kirk was a dangerous James Kirk. None of them broke the silence - not even McCoy.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Kirk began eating his cake again. He didn't say a single word until both cake and coffee were finished.

"I am returning to bed. Spock, make whatever schedule adjustments are necessary so that the four of us can meet for a breakfast and planning session. We reach Teenax in a little over a day - no, Spock, I do not need that broken down to the second. What I want is input. Tomorrow."

Rising, Kirk left without another word. His expression was still such that crewman ran, but he barely noticed them. He had no doubt that McCoy was following in his wake and only a suicidal fool would have tried make a move against him with the doctor nearby. Besides, even a preoccupied Kirk was more than a match for most.

McCoy was indeed following, close enough that he entered the Captain's Quarters after Kirk before the doors had time to begin shutting. The lights were immediately ordered down as McCoy undressed, joining Kirk in the bed and wordlessly accepting some rough treatment as his Captain vented physically before finally relaxing enough to sleep. A nearby hypospray was employed by the doctor to ease his own discomfort so that he could also sleep.

* * *

Nothing disturbed Kirk's rest this time and he was in a considerably better mood when he woke up on his own a few hours later. Giving his consort a thorough visual examination, he decided that there were no injuries worth worrying over before climbing out of the bed to take care of his personal needs. There was another hour before McCoy would need to get up, so Kirk settled down at a table with fresh coffee and an apple.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.282

I was somewhat annoyed when Bones woke me and requested a private meeting, but that vanished when I walked into the conference room to find that he and Nyota were deeply engrossed in conversation with Spock standing nearby.

Nyota had come across a group of Fibonans speaking and had recorded them since that's a language she isn't fluent in. She finally finished translating it and they were betting on how long it would take the Teenaxi to attack me once I made the peace overture. And not if they would attack. When.

* * *

Taking a bite of the apple, Kirk began to ponder how to take revenge on the Fibonans. They, of course, could not be allowed to get away with trying to dupe he and his crew. An appropriate response might take time though. Should he torture the delegates that had given traveled to bring him the artifact? Kill them? Ignore them and go after the Fibonan leaders who sent them?

He was indulging in a pleasant fantasy that included watching Layali flay the skin from the Fibonian that had annoyed him the most when the chronograph alerted him to the time. The noise from it had already started the task of rousing McCoy, who was a notoriously light sleeper. It only took a few minutes for the doctor to be up and ready.

As was his usual habit, McCoy didn't bother to heal or hide any of the marks Kirk had left on him. The looks the bruises drew from the crewmen they passed in the corridors never failed to please Kirk. He also knew the marks would earn him a scowl from Uhura, but Kirk enjoyed that as well.

All in all, the only thing that might have put him in a better mood as they reentered the conference room would have been a Fibonian to torture. He would just have to be patient for that.


	14. Chapter 14

Several ideas were bandied about at the meeting, but the only thing that they could all agree on was that there wasn't enough information on the Teenaxi and their customs to make plans with any degree of confidence. McCoy suggested quite strongly that this might prove an excellent opportunity to test out Kirk's android double.

Despite McCoy getting called away for an emergency regarding Keenser causing a severe burn on a fellow Engineering by sneezing on them, Kirk left the meeting with a few contingency plans. Those would be, at best, a rough framework to go by. Kirk's guts were telling him that this was going to be another occasion where they would need to, as McCoy would say, wing it.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.284

We've made a few contingency plans based on the conversation that Nyota overheard. Suffice to say, if the Teenaxi start anything, we will finish it. Besides, as Bones pointed out, this is a perfect opportunity to test out my android double.

That reminds me that I need to think of something special to punish the Fibonans for their part in this assassination attempt. If the Teenaxi are being used as a tool by them or the Emperor, perhaps we might arrange to let them take over the home world of the Fibonan Republic.

* * *

The doors to the Captain's Quarters opened to admit a grumbling doctor.

"How the hell does someone who is basically a walking rock catch a damn cold? And how the hell am I supposed to heal a walking rock that sneezes out highly caustic snot? Scotty is afraid Keenser will sneeze on something vital and blow us all up. And I can't say that isn't highly possible."

Kirk poured a drink and tested it before offering it over.

"You found a way to heal a rock before, you'll find a way again. Huh - I wonder if Keenser's people and the Horta evolved on similar planets? After all, the Horta sport some pretty caustic secretions themselves."

"True. Let's be grateful Tallulah doesn't sneeze. She could take out a deck."

McCoy took a long sip of his drink before dropping into a chair.

"So, anything get resolved after I left?"

"Nothing really. A few ideas, but nothing more elaborate than that. We'll be there any time now. We'll find out soon enough."

"I suppose. You given more thought about sending your android?"

"I have and I don't see that being possible. The androids are great at many things but thinking outside of the box? Not their forte. I'll take down a full Security contingent with me, don't worry."

"I won't. Because if you're going, I'm going with you."

"Bones . . ."

"This is me being very serious, Jim."

"I'll consider, but I don't know why you're so worried."

"Past experience."

Before Kirk could respond, a message alert came across followed by Uhura's voice.

"We have established orbit around Teenax and are receiving an incoming transmission, Captain."

"Relay it here, Lieutenant."

"Aye, Captain."

Something about the Teenaxi representative's face reminded McCoy of gargoyles he had seen in a museum. The grey skin tone of the Teenaxi heightened that illusion and the gravelly voice didn't help either.

"Captain - I am the chosen Speaker for the Teenaxi. Our representatives have gathered in the High Council Chamber to hear about what you bring from the Fibonans."

"My thanks, Lord Speaker. My party and I -"

"No party! No other representative of your crew will be acceptable save for yourself alone."

Kirk didn't have a change to respond before McCoy called out.

"Not alone. His consort will be accompanying him as is the manner for our people."

The Teenaxi Speaker paused then leaned to the side, obviously consulting with others who were off screen. After several minutes, the Speaker faced the screen again.

"That will be acceptable. Our delegation is awaiting the arrival of you and your consort."

Bemused and wondering when he had lost control over the situation, Kirk signed off before giving McCoy a look. Since the amusement was still present, McCoy wasn't overly worried about being punished for exceeding his authority.

"Well, since you're so damned determined to go, grab your medkit and meet me in the Transporter Room."

Once McCoy had exited, Kirk called Spock and informed him that he and McCoy were beaming down to talk to the Teenaxi delegation. That done, he took a good look at himself in his mirror before adjusting his sash and dagger slightly. Satisfied, he took a moment to order Scott to the Transporter Room before heading there himself.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.285

Upon reaching Teenax, the Teenaxi Delegation contacted us and said that the only representative of the crew who is to be allowed to beam down is myself. After I decided I was going to go personally rather than send my android, Bones insisted on accompanying me - as my consort rather than as a member of the crew. After some debate on the surface, the Teenaxi Delegation said they have no objection to my being accompanied by my consort.

I'm not sure if I should be amused or annoyed at this turn of events.


	15. Chapter 15

The coordinates that had been sent ended up putting them on a dais surrounded by coliseum style seating that put the Teenaxi delegation above them and made it difficult to get a good look at them.

One thing became quickly apparent - they were facing a hostile audience. McCoy was surprised and impressed at how well Kirk was keeping his composure.

As soon as Kirk held up the artifact, the Teenaxi speaker demanded to know what was wrong with it. The Fibonans wouldn't hand over anything that wasn't defective.

Kirk acknowledged that the artifact was not a whole weapon, but only a piece of an ancient relic that the Fibonans had acquired long ago. That made the Speaker even more agitated.

"Acquired. You mean they stole it!"

That was something that Kirk could neither confirm or deny as he hadn't a clue of how the Fibonans had come into possession of the artifact. But while Kirk was thinking of an appropriate response, McCoy spoke up. Not loudly, but with the excellent acoustics in the room, everyone heard him.

"Wouldn't surprise me a bit."

The Speaker's anger seemed to deflate slightly as he turned his attention to McCoy.

"You do not know the Fibonans as we do."

Deciding that this was the time to follow the doctor's lead, Kirk nodded.

"That is quite true. We don't. Tell us about them."

"They are treacherous! If they wish to give us this, it must be something that will slay us in our sleep so that they may come, chop us to bits, roast us and eat us!"

It would not have been too much of an exaggeration to say that Kirk's jaw nearly dropped open at that statement, but McCoy saw his opening and leapt on it without hesitation.

"I knew it! My Captain, the Fibonans are obviously trying to make fools of you and our crew by asking us to do their treacherous deeds for them under the guise of a treaty. We must join with the Teenaxi and wage war!"

It took all of his considerable willpower for Kirk to refrain from jumping when the Teenaxi delegates all went wild and began chanting 'War!' at the top of their lungs as they jumped up and down in their seats. Some even came down from their seats in a peculiar rolling motion that brought them down to the dais where McCoy and Kirk were standing. Kirk and McCoy both had to fight to hide their surprise when the Teenaxi up close proved to be much smaller than expected.

McCoy fell back into his role, kneeling before Kirk as the Teenaxi began to surround and circle them while still chanting loudly.

"Is it to be war, my Captain?"

A sudden hush fell over the room and Kirk felt the eyes of every Teenaxi focus on him. It was a sensation that almost made him as giddy as Romulan Ale. Taking a deep breath, Kirk stood tall and made his proclamation.

"My crew and I will be proud to join the Teenaxi in their fight against the Fibonans!"

The pandemonium was epic as the Teenaxi began making immediate preparation to invade Fibona. Kirk quickly contacted the Enterprise and gave Spock a quick fill-in on the war they just entered. The long silence on the other end made Kirk wish he could have seen the expression on Spock's face. He then told Spock to make arrangements for the Teenaxi delegation onboard. The Teenaxi troops would be going in their own vessels, but Kirk was offering transport to the elders.

Kirk shook his head as he looked at McCoy.

"And you call me impulsive, Bones?"

"Are you going to deny that you've been trying to figure out a way to get back at the Fibonans? They wanted to get us attacked, I figure returning the favor is appropriate."

Since lying to his consort was never a good idea when McCoy's eyes shifted to that reptilian green and gold color, Kirk simply agreed that he would probably enjoy the reaction of the Fibonans when the invasion began.

* * *

Whatever else might be said about the Teenaxi, they were a well-organized people. In less than a day, their forces were ready to depart and the delegation had accepted Kirk's invitation to travel aboard the Enterprise.

Uhura was among the welcome committee for the Teenaxi, viewing this as a priceless opportunity to become fluent in their language. McCoy was already highly regarded among the Teenaxi elders, so when he handled the introduction of Uhura to them, she was accepted as a friend of the Teenaxi without hesitation.

As Kirk escorted the Speaker around the Bridge, he mused that of all the contingencies they had considered in their meeting, none of them had come close to reality.

Of course, he also doubted that this scenario would have occurred to whoever it was at Imperial Starfleet Command that set this scheme into motion. That was another expression that he would pay good money to see when the news of this impromptu war reached Headquarters.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.286

Things went rather quickly with the Teenaxi Delegation. When we tried to present them with the artifact from the Fibonans, the Delegation leader began ranting about the Fibonans wanting to murder, cook and eat his people. Before I could say another word, Bones jumped in and began to agree with everything the leader was saying and begging me to lend our assistance to the Teenaxi warriors in destroying their enemy.

To make a long, confusing story shorter, we're on our way to the Fibonan homeworld with a Teenaxi army. This should be fun.


	16. Chapter 16

It didn't take Kirk long to decide that it was in his best interests to removed both Uhura and McCoy from the active duty roster as they and the Teenaxi seemed to understand one another. Besides, learning a new language always put Uhura in a good mood which, in turn, put Spock into a good mood.

He was forced to rethink that when Scott came looking for him. Kirk did his best to remain patient while Scott meandered his way around to the reason for coming to talk with him.

"Captain, y'know Keenser is getting along right well with a couple of the Teenaxi onboard. Well, Wee Man came to me and wanted to show me something. Keenser led me to where the doctor and Uhura are chatting with the older Teenaxi. I dinnae know what they've been talking about, but I can tell ye that I've rarely seen Doc madder than he is right now and the lass is a close second."

Scott didn't spell it out, but Kirk knew what was being left unsaid. If there was anything more dangerous to the crew of his ship than Keenser and his corrosive snot being near the warp drives, it was McCoy when he was angry. An angry Uhura was also unwise to trifle with for those that valued keeping all of their extremities attached. That meant it was in everyone's best interest for Kirk to find out exactly what was getting them so worked up.

The scene he came in on was McCoy and Uhura listening intently to the eldest of the Teenaxi - McCoy making use of the translator while Uhura concentrated on the natural Teenaxian dialect. Kirk paused in the doorway, listening as McCoy asked a question.

"So your grandfather was the only survivor?"

"Yes. Only because the Fibonan monsters did not know that he had been ordered to stay with the ship. They assumed that all of our people were with them when the attack began."

Uhura bowed her head and offered the elder a mug - of what, Kirk had no idea, but it was accepted with a returned nod before the elder took a drink and continued.

"He was on the ship quietly monitoring, so he saw it all. There was no warning. One minute, the Fibonans were discussing peace overtures with our representatives and the next, they attacked us. Our group was slaughtered and the Fibonans immediately began to prepare a feast for themselves from the remains of our people - one of them had been my grandfather's elder sister. He was sickened but continued to remain hidden, waiting until the Fibonans were in the middle of their feast to leave that cursed planet and return to us with the tale of their treachery."

Uhura's voice was fully of sympathy as she urged the elder to continue his story.

"Since then, the Fibonans continue to raid our world, stealing our young who they seem to consider to be a great delicacy. We have had success in the past year in defeating their raiders and protecting our young. We suspect this is why they have offered peace again - to trick us so they can begin to take away our young again."

That was all it took for Kirk to know that the Fibonan people had just gained a foe that would most likely not stop until they had been wiped from existence. Children were McCoy's line. It didn't matter what species the children might be. Kidnapping them would have been bad enough, but add in killing and eating?

Apparently sensing that he was being watched, McCoy's head turned to look toward his Captain. As expected, those normally hazel eyes were reptilian again and Kirk knew that he and his consort would be having a lengthy talk later. McCoy gave Kirk a tight smile to signal that he was remaining in control and Kirk gave him a nod of acknowledgment before the doctor returned his attention to the elder.

One thing that never failed to amaze Kirk was how well McCoy managed to get along with a wide variety of species despite the fact that he was not the most diplomatic sort. Vulcans, Klingons, Horta - the list went on. In fact, the only ones McCoy didn't get along with were the ones that McCoy took an active dislike to and the Fibonans looked likely to join the Vians as those that would regret ending up on the wrong side of Leonard McCoy.

With that thought in mind, Kirk eased his way back out of the room as he made a note to himself to ensure that they skinned a few of the Fibonans. After all, one day the Imperial collection of flayed hides would be his, so adding to it was in his own interests.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.287

Bones is in a foul mood. He and Nyota have been spending time with the elder Teenaxi - Nyota to pick up on the nuances of their language and Bones for their stories.

The Teenaxi leader wasn't paranoid. The Fibonan/Teenaxi situation started when the Teenaxi sent a group of representatives to the Fibonans and their representatives were slaughtered and eaten. Since then, the Fibonans have raided Teenaxi settlements with the aim of kidnapping children, who they consider a delicacy.

The Fibonans don't know yet, but they've pissed off the wrong doctor.


	17. Chapter 17

It was late by the time McCoy finally returned to Kirk's quarters. Kirk was ready with glasses and a bottle close at hand. There was no doubt in his mind that the doctor would be fuming. What he didn't expect was that Gem would be with him.

Gem was obviously upset and clinging to McCoy as if her life depended on his touch. Instead of fuming, McCoy was talking soothingly to the young empath as he coaxed her over to the couch before looking over to Kirk.

"Jim, would you request Spock to come? I've got a hunch what might have Gem all upset, but he could confirm it for me."

His own curiosity tweaked, Kirk sent for Spock, then poured himself a drink while they waited. As usual, Spock didn't make him wait long and Kirk simply gestured toward McCoy and Gem with his glass. The intent was obvious and Spock settled to the side of Gem, lightly resting his hand against her arm.

A few silent minutes passed before Spock withdrew his hand and turned his attention to McCoy.

"Someone has been eating the Teenaxian young?"

McCoy gave Spock a grim nod.

"It seems that the Fibonans have a taste for Teenaxi flesh - the younger, the better. Gem picking up on that like she did means that the Teenaxi aren't just trying to play us, Jim. I don't know who all you have in mind to go planet-side and deal with the Fibonans, but I want to be on the list."

Taking a long drink, Kirk considered McCoy's request. On the negative side, there was always the chance that going into a volatile situation like that could get McCoy injured or possibly even killed. There were any number of reasonable objections Kirk could raise and keep McCoy safe aboard the ship.

The thing was, McCoy didn't need or want coddling and had proven himself to be both resourceful and innovative in a fight. Denying him permission to take out his angry on the Fibonans would doubtless guarantee a disgruntled doctor - which wasn't good for his ship. The best thing to do then would be to allow him to go, but to make sure there were several there with him to guard his back who would understand how unhappy their Captain would be with them should anything happen to the Captain's consort.

Lowering his glass, Kirk nodded.

"You're in, Bones. Sharpen your scalpels - or whatever it is you plan to use on them."

His mood calming almost immediately, McCoy briefly rubbed his hands together in anticipation, then looked down as Gem tugged lightly on his sleeve. He nodded, then looked up to jim again.

"I'd like to take some of my ladies with me. Gem here, Layali, Catherine, and Iris."

The inclusion of one of the android nurses met Kirk's approval and, after a little consideration, so did the other nurses requested. He could almost muster up a little sympathy for the Fibonans.

"Alright, Bones. Tell them to prepare."

A glance to the side reminded Kirk of another matter that needed to be attended to. Moving over to where it was sitting, Kirk picked up the artifact the Fibonans had sent and tossed it over to Spock.

"The Teenaxi don't want anything to do with that piece of crap. Stick it into our archive storage for now. Maybe you can eventually assign one of your people figure out if it's as worthless as it looks or if it's actually a piece of something useful."

Spock caught the artifact easily, giving it a disinterested look before responding to Kirk.

"May I take it that finding out more about this artifact is a low priority?"

"Very low. In fact, if one of your people piss you off, that might be a good job to assign them."

Recognizing his dismissal, Spock saluted and exited, taking the artifact with him.

Five minutes later, Kirk snarled as the tones from the intercom interrupted what had been a pleasant distraction provided by McCoy and Gem. Stalking over to the device, Kirk slammed his hand against it.

"What?!"

Others might have been intimidated by the anger in Kirk's voice, but not Uhura. Her voice remained calm and professional as she gave her report.

"There was a momentary surge in our computer systems, Captain. Something triggered our system to do a brief broadcast and then wipe the record."

There was complete silence as Kirk digested the information.

"Can you trace back the cause or tell where the broadcast was directed?"

"I am currently working on that, sir, but I will need authorization from either yourself or Commander Spock to gain access to the areas of the computer I need."

"On my way. Kirk out."

McCoy stood up and helped Gem up. The two of them followed Kirk out into the corridor, then headed to Sickbay while Kirk headed for the Bridge.

Kirk didn't bother to claim the Command chair - he wasn't planning to remain on the Bridge. It only took a few minutes at the Communications panel to grant Uhura the access she needed to search for the cause of the broadcast. Once that was done, he headed for his ready room. It was time to look over the maps they had available and begin to plan put the assault on the Fibonan home world.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.288

It took me agreeing to allow Bones to be in the initial assault group to get him to calm down. There's no surer way to get Bones mad than messing with kids of any species.

The artifact that the Fibonans gave us to negotiate with? The Teenaxi want nothing to do with it and the Fibonans aren't getting it back, so I gave it to Spock to stick into our archives. Maybe one day if he or one of his team is bored, they can figure out what it was part of.


	18. Chapter 18

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.289

I made a general announcement to the crew looking for volunteers to assist in the Teenaxi attack on the Fibonans. As expected, plenty of volunteers as they'll all get an extra cut of whatever the Enterprise makes from this. Chekov volunteered as soon as he heard Bones was going. He still considers himself as Bones' bodyguard and I'm certainly not going to discourage that.

Spock's been informed that I want him to remain onboard and locate targets that we can take out with our weapons to support the forces beaming down.

* * *

Kirk smiled to himself as he looked over those of his crew that had volunteered to assist in the invasion on the Fibonan home world. The only ones not present yet were McCoy and Chekov. For some reason, McCoy had requested a last minute meeting with Spock.

"I congratulate you all at having been chosen to represent the crew of the ISS Enterprise during this invasion. We are not here to capture any of the Fibonans - we are here to exterminate them with extreme prejudice. The only exception will be at Doctor McCoy's discretion. You will obey his orders as if they were coming from me - without hesitation or question. Also, bear this in mind. If Doctor McCoy does not return from this mission? None of you will return from this mission. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

There may have been a gulp or two, but the affirmative response back was unanimous and loud. Kirk allowed a smirk to form before he spoke again.

"Be grateful that our ship has a CMO that is the deadliest I've ever heard of. Report to the Transporter Room in your designated units."

The only ones that didn't leave the room were the four women from Sickbay that would make up McCoy's personal unit along with Chekov. Gem was no longer the shy empathy hiding behind whoever was near, but now a cool and confident killer even though she looked like a wide-eyed innocent. Iris was next, her android skin still flawlessly beautiful, she was dispassionately efficient in the way only a machine - or a Vulcan - could be.

Layali was toying with her twin blades that were no doubt razor sharp. Catherine only carried one blade, but it was wicked looking with one side of it having a jagged, serrated edge that reminded Kirk of a row of fanged mouths. The door opened, admitting McCoy and Chekov. In addition to his uniform dagger, McCoy was carrying a sheathed blade - far longer than the uniform dagger. Judging from the scabbard, the blade alone was probably at least 50 centimeters long.

"I haven't seen that blade before, have I, Bones?"

Knowing an unspoken command when he heard one, McCoy offered the blade over for Kirk to inspect.

"Probably not. I've had it a long time, but never did much with it besides keep it clean and sharp. It's called a rondel. Other than knowing that it came down through my mother's side of the family, that's about the extent of my knowledge."

Kirk let out a low whistle as he freed the blade from its scabbard. Two things he could tell - it was high quality workmanship and very old.

"Hiding things from me?"

A lesser man might have quailed at Kirk's tone. McCoy gave an unconcerned shrug.

"Not really. It's kind of like my old surgical gear or that battered football of mine. I've had it so long, I hardly even think about it. This occasion though? This is what it was forged for, so I pulled it out of my storage. If I'd known you liked antiques, I'd have brought it out sooner."

Sliding the blade back into the metal reinforced leather sheath, Kirk handed it back to McCoy.

"You can use that thing, right?"

That question got the snort it deserved.

"I'm a surgeon - it's a blade. I can use it."

Kirk's eye moved to Chekov. He knew without asking that the number of blades he could see were nowhere near the actual number of blades the young Russian was carrying.

"How many?"

Chekov's eyes sparkled a bit as he smiled slightly.

"Counting my throwing blades? Thirty, Captain."

That was over ten more blades than Kirk had guessed. Shaking his head with amusement, he chuckled.

"One day, I'm going to ask you to show me how you conceal that many blades without rattling when you walk."

"Whenever you wish, sir. I will confess that part of the answer involves uniform alterations."

More intrigued than ever, Kirk circled the young lieutenant.

"Absolutely no signs of those. I'm impressed with both the placement and with whoever did the alterations."

"Credit for that goes back to you, Captain."

Kirk stopped and frowned.

"Me?"

"Aye, sir. One of the androids you so generously gave me was one of the series that Mudd used to create the clothing for himself and the other androids."

"Once this particular mission is over, we're going to have a long talk, Mister Chekov."

"Aye, sir."

Uhura's voice came over the ship's intercom.

"Bridge to Captain Kirk."

Kirk moved over to the nearest unit.

"Kirk here. What is it, Lieutenant?"

"We have been contacted by the lead Teenaxi ship. They are ready and are awaiting your command, sir."

"On my way. Kirk out."

Turning to the group, Kirk's eyes fixed solidly on McCoy.

"Impress me, Bones."

The reptilian eyes were bright and shining as McCoy strode over and kissed Kirk firmly before pulling back and giving the Captain his most formal Imperial salute. The other five snapped to attention and saluted as well, all holding it until Kirk returned it. Only then did McCoy speak again.

"I will, Captain. Come along, ladies and gentleman - time for us to go to the Transporter Room."

Kirk remained there, watching as they filed out before leaving the room himself and heading for the Bridge. He wanted a front row seat for this show.


	19. Chapter 19

As always, Kirk felt a bit of a thrill as he stepped onto the Bridge and everyone snapped to attention as they saluted. He returned the salute and they all returned to their duties. He noted that Spock seemed to be busy at the Science station, but that wasn't unusual. He had expected that the Vulcan would have already marked the most promising sites for the helm to target, still? He hadn't given Spock a deadline and so long as targets were available as desired, it didn't make any difference.

Standing beside the command chair, Kirk activated the intercom.

"Mister Scott. Report."

The call was answered immediately.

"All combatants are now on the planet's surface, Captain. The drones you wanted are ready to be transported down at your command."

"Excellent. Send them now and send the frequencies to Lieutenant Uhura."

"Aye, sir. At once."

Kirk waited until he had settled into his chair before turning his attention to Uhura.

"Lieutenant. As soon as you have the frequencies from Mister Scott, I want the transmission on our main screen. I want to see how these Teenaxi fight."

"Mister Scott has sent ten frequencies, sir. Is there a particular one you want to focus on?"

Sitting back with a smile, Kirk shook his head.

"Bring them all up, but be ready to focus in if one of them proves more interesting than the others."

It turned out that there was plenty to watch and Kirk decided to share with the rest of the ship. He had Uhura patch into screens in the various off-duty lounges. Little doubt there would soon be betting going on among the crew.

The Fibonans seemed to be extremely underprepared for an attack and ill-equipped to defend themselves against the much-smaller Teenaxi. What the Teenaxi lost in size, they more than made up for in viciousness, teamwork, and determination. The Fibonans weren't facing one-to-one combat with the Teenaxi - when a Fibonan was attacked, it was by at least three and sometimes five Teenaxi at once.

Fascinating as watching the Teenaxi ripping their opponents to shreds was, Uhura knew what the Captain really wanted to see and searched quickly to find the feed that showed McCoy and Chekov, magnifying that one once she found it.

The Fibonan blood was a deep reddish-orange - both men and their blades were already covered with it. Kirk relaxed when he noted that not only were Chekov and the ladies staying near McCoy, so were a number of the Teenaxi fighters. Kirk's opportunities to watch McCoy and Chekov's skills with blades from this angle had been few, so he took the drink his yeoman was offering, automatically tested it, and then took a sip as he enjoyed the battles onscreen for a few minutes before speaking again.

"Do you have the coordinates for any targets in the system, Mister Sulu?"

"Aye, sir."

"Excellent. Send the coordinates to Mister Scott so that he can have some of the drones focused on those areas, then fire at will."

The variety and amount of carnage on the screen kept Kirk's attention, so he was annoyed at first when Spock's voice interrupted his viewing.

"Captain, I believe I have located the areas that Doctor McCoy requested I search for."

Since the search was news to Kirk, he pulled himself away from the screen and moved over to Spock's station.

"What areas are you talking about?"

Immediately realizing that the Doctor hadn't mentioned this to the Captain, Spock could only hope that Kirk wouldn't be angry.

"Doctor McCoy said that, since the Fibonans are reported to view young Teenaxi flesh as a delicacy, there was a very good chance that one or more individuals might have decided to breed some of the captured older Teenaxi to, as he phrased it, meet the demand. I found no fault with his logic and set the parameters for a search of areas with a Teenaxi population that did not coincide with the locations of any of the troops that were beamed down to the surface."

Crossing his arms, Kirk leaned against a nearby panel.

"And you believe that you've located one of these potential breeding farms?"

"Actually, Captain, I have located three areas that would seem likely."

Spock shifted to allow the Captain to view the readings for himself, which he moved over to do before smiling.

"Lieutenant Uhura, wait until Bones doesn't have his blade hilt-deep into a Fibonan, then warn him that he and his group are going to be beamed over to a new area he should be very interested in. Mister Spock, pick one of the spots and send the coordinates to Mister Scott. And tell him I'll be down shortly. This is one raid I plan to participate in."

Kirk heard the acknowledgements, but barely paid any attention to them as he took another glance at the screen. Smiling to himself, he glanced back toward Spock.

"You have the Bridge while I'm gone, Mister Spock, but think about what weapon you'd like to bloody. If the first does prove to be a breeding center, I want you to lead the second raid. Lieutenant Uhura, if you would care to join in, make sure whoever relieves you can keep the drone broadcast running properly."

The envious glance that Sulu shot at Uhura wasn't missed and Kirk decided to toss Sulu a bone as well.

"Once Mister Spock has returned from his raid, I want you to lead the third one, Mister Sulu. Remember we want any Teenaxi in these areas alive and as undamaged as can be managed."

With all of his main Bridge personnel thinking pleasant thoughts of the blood they would spill, Kirk left the Bridge and headed for the Transporter Room. He certainly wasn't going to miss out on all the fun either.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.291

Not sure what the Fibonans might have been prepared for, but an invasion by the Teenaxi wasn't it. I was enjoying the show when Spock called me over. Seems Bones had requested that Spock look for possible pockets of Teenaxi on the basis that, if the Teenaxi young really are a delicacy, odds were that an enterprising soul or two had probably started a breeding farm.

His theory seems to be correct and Spock has found three areas with clusters of Teenaxi readings. We'll raid those areas to see what we find.


	20. Chapter 20

**_Author Note : this chapter might hit some folks in the 'squick' factor even though I don't get graphic. Consider yourself warned._**

* * *

McCoy's immediate reaction to being told that he and his group were being relocated was a mixture of irritated and intrigued. Intrigue won out the second he saw that Kirk was waiting on him. That and Gem grabbing onto his arm told him that he'd been right and Spock had been successful.

A heartbeat later, the Teenaxi warriors that had been with him appeared as well. A glance to Kirk told McCoy that this was his show and a grim smile formed before he yelled.

"Save the children! Death to the Fibonans!"

The Fibonans abandoned their work and fled for their lives - for what little good that did them. The sight of dozens of young Teenaxi, ranging from teens to newborns, enraged the warriors. His immediate priorities being different, McCoy sent in his ladies to rescue the children too young or injured to walk on their own and had a guard set up around Gem so that the children could be taken to her to protect.

Kirk cheerfully joined in with the slaughter, but he was searching for a building he knew had to be nearby. There had to be an abattoir where they did their butchering. There was and when he went inside, Kirk found himself in the unusual position of debating whether or not to allow McCoy to see this place. The only ones remaining in the building were three very young Teenaxi who had evaded butchering by the timely arrival of the raiding party.

In the end, Kirk decided that he would far rather have the fury of his CMO directed at the Fibonans than at himself. Relaying the message through Spock, Kirk soon found himself joined by both McCoy and the elders of the Teenaxi. No explanation was needed - at least not for McCoy. The scent of an abattoir was like no other and this was far from McCoy's first encounter with one.

Taking the Teenaxi child he was offered automatically, Kirk wondered if Pike had ever seen Puri like this. When someone had pushed past his boundary so far that he went from angry to coldly furious. Kirk had seen McCoy angry and vengeful many times before, but this mood that had descended on the doctor now was far, far beyond anything Kirk had previously experienced.

The Teenaxi elders seemed to sense it as well and circled around McCoy after the last living child had been removed from the building. The silence reminded Kirk of the massive Earth storms known as hurricanes - they were currently in the calm eye, but that wasn't going to last for long. Kirk quietly signaled Scotty to have a drone filming the area.

His eyes were still fixed on a bloody table when McCoy finally spoke - his words directed to the Captain.

"Are there other places like this?"

"Spock believes there are two more. He and Lieutenant Uhura will be joining you on the second raid. Lieutenant Sulu will be on the third."

A slow nod was the only acknowledgment of Kirk's words at first. Then McCoy knelt down to meet the Teenaxi Speaker eye to eye.

"Together, we will rescue your young, then once they are safe? Death to all Fibonans."

That was meet with enthusiastic support. It didn't take long for the surviving Teenaxi children to be beamed aboard the Enterprise along with Kirk. Spock and Uhura were waiting in the Transporter Room and Kirk smirked at the sight of the Vulcan's lirpa and Uhura's bandolier that sheathed a number of throwing blades. The transmissions meant that Kirk didn't need to give them a situation update, but he did give them one warning.

"Don't step between Bones and a Fibonan."

That advice given, Kirk headed straight for the Bridge, not bothering to change out of his bloody uniform. The looks the Captain got from the crew that he passed were varied - fear, admiration, lust, envy - but even though Kirk didn't have his usual bodyguards around, not one of them was even tempted to make a move against him. Besides, serving under a Captain as profitable as Kirk was every Imperial crew member's dream.

As soon as he reclaimed the Captain's chair, Kirk sent Sulu off to prepare for the third raid. He didn't bother to spare a thought about the care that the Teenaxi children would receive. It was hardly a secret how McCoy felt about children and every member of the Sickbay staff - from lowliest orderly to the Head Nurse - knew better than to disappoint their CMO.

Calling for Alice, his personal android yeoman, to bring him food and drink, Kirk ordered the images of the second breeding area to fill most of the screen. The only other time he had seen a lirpa in use, he couldn't properly enjoy it as he was expecting Spock to kill McCoy with it. He had no such qualms about watching the weapon slice into the Fibonans.

Before leaving to get the Captain's food, the yeoman offered him a PADD that had been left for him by Uhura. Taking it, Kirk saw that Uhura had been busy. She had not only breeched the internal communications of the Fibonan hierarchy, she had a translation ready for them. Not that it made any difference at this point, but they confirmed the suspicion that the peace overture was nothing but a ploy aimed at getting the Teenaxi to drop their guard and make it easier to capture more of them for additional breeding farms.

Shaking his head, Kirk activated his log. The amusement was evident in his voice as he spoke.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.292

The raids produced some interesting results. We found about a dozen young adult Teenaxi who were being used for breeding and young ranging in ages from a few months to a few hours old. We also found their processing area and brought Bones and the elder Teenaxi to it.

Internal communications found at the Fibonan capital imply that the peace overture was to get the Teenaxi to drop their guard. The Fibonans will likely cease to exist as a viable race before this is over. Can't say they didn't ask for it.


	21. Chapter 21

The leaders of the raiding parties changed, but the core group remained the same - McCoy and his team plus the Teenaxi warriors and elders that had attached themselves to him. The story was very much the same at both of the remaining breeding areas. It was Spock who voiced the reason the areas were so easy to take.

"The Teenaxi who have been held here are both too young and too untrained to be a serious threat. There was also no incentive for them to escape as there is no place on this world where they could have found refuge. There has never been a need for guards before."

Smiling thinly while watching as one of the buildings was being destroyed, McCoy commented flatly.

"There won't be a need for guards in the future either."

Acknowledging the truth of that statement, Spock kept an eye on the destruction around them. There were no living Fibonans left in the vicinity and the surviving children were already safely aboard the Enterprise. Uhura was currently in an intense discussion with the Teenaxi Speaker which neither Spock or McCoy saw any reason to intrude on.

Spock flexed his fingers reflexively before giving a adjusting tug to his bloody tunic. The occasions for him to not only release his full strength but to also weld his lirpa in combat were limited and the experience had been most satisfactory. Another point of satisfaction was the known fact that engaging in battle with her knives made Uhura's desires run hot. There was no doubt in Spock's mind that the two of them would experience a mutually gratifying evening.

His ruminations were cut short as Uhura rose from her kneeling position and came over.

"The Speaker has said that he and his people are ready to attack the final breeding area, but he has made a request. He would like a . . . clean area found where they can build a pyre for their dead, then take the ashes back to Teenax to spread over their sacred grounds."

The request sounded reasonable to McCoy who had already been wondering how to deal with the fact that the Teenaxi wouldn't want their dead left on an enemy planet. Nodding, he turned to Spock.

"When you and Ny switch places with Sulu, would you do me the favor of looking for a suitable spot?"

"I will do so. Will the Teenaxi desire to gather the remains themselves or would it be acceptable to send them to the area ourselves once found?"

Another quick conference was held with the Speaker, who insisted on speaking with all three of them.

"You have proven yourselves to be true friends of my people. You are allowed to move our lost."

Being accustomed to the many layered nuances of Vulcan funeral rituals, Spock accepted the responsibility solemnly, which pleased the Speaker greatly. Once the Speaker moved back to the other elders, Spock looked over McCoy, noting that the doctor was nearing complete exhaustion.

"Perhaps you should return to the Enterprise and leave the final raid in Lieutenant Sulu's hands, Doctor."

"I won't say that's not tempting, Spock, but my rest can wait until this is over."

Since Kirk had already stated that McCoy was to be obeyed on this mission, Spock simply nodded before contacting the Enterprise. Within a matter of minutes, McCoy and the rest were transported to the outskirts of the final holding area where Sulu and some fresh troops were already waiting for them. Sulu was puzzled as to why McCoy was ordering he and his group to go around, but he laughed and brandished his brand as the reasoning became obvious. The Fibonans fleeing from the final breeding area and abattoir were running directly into them.

As in the first two cases, the slaughter was inevitable as the Fibonans were far more likely to panic and scatter than to mount any attempt at resistance. After the last of the Fibonans fell, Sulu moved to where McCoy was cleaning his rondel's blade and began to clean his own weapon.

"Good exercise if not a good fight, Doctor."

"True statement. It also shows why the Fibonans were trying to trick the Teenaxi instead of simply invading. Care to bet that the raids that took the children were hit and run affairs were they just grabbed what they could and ran before they got caught?"

That got a hearty laugh out of the helmsman.

"Not going to make a bet with you that I'm bound to lose, Doc. What happens next?"

McCoy made a vague gesture toward the now-burning abattoir.

"Spock is getting a location ready where the Teenaxi can cremate their dead. After that? I assume it will be open season on any Fibonan still breathing."

McCoy stopped speaking and waited as the Teenaxi Speaker came toward them.

"I wish to speak with you and your Captain."

Giving the Speaker a deferential nod, McCoy pulled out his communicator.

"McCoy to Enterprise."

"Enterprise. Kirk here."

"Captain, the Speaker would like to speak with us."

Kirk debated briefly. Change into a fresher uniform or remain in his bloody uniform. Seeing no reason to change, he got to his feet as he answered.

"I'll be right down."

To Kirk's surprise, Nurse Chapel was waiting for him near the Transporter Room. She took his inquisitive look as permission to speak.

"Begging your pardon, Captain, but do you think the Teenaxi elders might be persuaded to allow twenty to thirty of the Fibonans to live?"

That wasn't a question Kirk was expecting and his frown showed that.

"Why?"

"Many of the Teenaxi children are injured. From her gestures, we believe that Gem thinks she can cure them, but she needs someone to transfer the injuries to."

Kirk's eyes lit us and his frown turned into a sly smile.

"I believe that for such a worthy cause, they might give a few of the Fibonans a short reprieve."

Nurse Chapel saluted before heading back to Sickbay. Kirk headed straight for the transporter platform, only having to wait seconds before finding himself beside McCoy. On seeing his arrival, more of the Teenaxi elders gathered around. Once they had settled, the Speaker began to talk.

"Words have little meaning compared to actions. Your actions have shown you and your people to be true allies and friends of the Teenaxi. Trusting our warriors to keep your consort safe shows that you also have trust in us as friends and allies. We have regained a generation that we had thought lost to us and thank you."

The words slipped smoothly from Kirk's mouth.

"It has been our great honor to fight alongside your warriors. The Fibonans tried to trick us both and we are grateful that you told us of their treachery. How do you wish to divide the spoils of this world?"

The Speaker made a gesture that expressed his disgust.

"Everything on this world is foul. We want nothing but our young and the ashes of our dead. Do with the rest as you please."

Kirk being Kirk, the thoughts of the profits to be had flooded his brain, but he pushed those pleasant musings to the side.

"Speaking of your young, my people have among them a young healer who was with us on the first raid."

The Speaker nodded slowly.

"The silent one."

"Yes. She has a power that is unique. She can remove an injury from one and transfer it to another. She desires that we capture some of the Fibonans alive to allow her to take the injuries from your young and put them onto those that caused the injuries."

The elders only needed to confer for a moment.

"Will the Fibonans live through this procedure?"

Kirk gave a unconcerned shrug.

"Possibly, but those that do survive will be executed after the young as all well again."

"Then, for the sake of our young, we will capture as many as are needed. Let us go."

Pulling out his communicator, Kirk smiled again.

"Kirk to Transporter Room."

"Scott here, Captain."

"Coordinate with Mister Spock and get ready to mass transport the troops again to wherever the largest remaining group of Fibonans are located."

"Aye, sir. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Scott out."

Kirk decided to remain on the planet with McCoy and Sulu. To err on the side of caution, Kirk had 50 Fibonans captured and sent for Gem to use before the hunt back to wipe out any remaining Fibonan on the planet. As the Fibonans were an asexual race that increased their population by biological cloning - a more advanced version of what was done by flatworms on Earth - there were no children to take into account.

Once the ISS Enterprise's sensors confirmed that no more Fibonan lifeforms remained on the surface, Kirk gave a satisfied look around before returning to the Enterprise with the exhausted Doctor. Time to pamper his consort a bit.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.294

I am pleased to note that the Enterprise has had a successful mission and a lasting peace has been forged between the Teenaxi and the Fibonans. Some might be nitpicky and point out that the peace is due to the current lack of any living Fibonans, but whatever works.

The Teenaxi Delegation is highly impressed with my warriors, most especially my consort. In recognition of our assistance and the rescue of many Teenaxi infants, the Teenaxi only want the return of things stolen from them, leaving all other salvage from the planet for us.


	22. Chapter 22

McCoy had no memory of being laid in bed, but he woke feeling well-rested and, to his surprise, found Gem snuggled against his side. A nearby noise took his gaze over to Kirk, who gave him a grin when he saw that McCoy was awake.

"I didn't think you'd mind me letting Gem sleep next to you. She worked on a dozen kids before she was too exhausted to do anything else. Oh, the Teenaxi Speaker and the elders have requested to watch Gem when she's up to working on the next batch of kids. I agreed."

Carefully stretching to avoid bumping Gem, McCoy nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine. It never seems to bother Gem if folks watch her so long as they don't interfere."

Gem began to wake up herself, stretching with the exaggerated gestures that seemed almost overdramatic, but since she did things that way whether fully awake or half-asleep, the gestures seemed to just be part of her nature. Seeing Kirk and McCoy nearby, she gave them both a large smile before retreating to the shower. McCoy headed over to the replicator to call up a meal.

"Have you already eaten, Jim?"

"Just a snack, so I'll eat with you."

The three meals were on the table by the time Gem reemerged. She must have woken hungry as she made a bee-line for the plate that she knew was hers, though she remembered her training, looking to McCoy and waiting for him to scan the food before taking her first bite. Kirk watched their interactions with interest. He never could quite settle in his own mind if McCoy treated Gem as another little sister like Joanna or if he treated her like a daughter. The difficulty was not having a comparison since McCoy didn't have kids of his own.

The three ate in companionable silence as Kirk noticed that Gem was discretely nudging the healthier breakfast options closer to him like McCoy was also prone to doing. Fortunately, Kirk found that manuever to be more amusing than annoying. He had accepted way back during their Academy days that it was one of the ways that McCoy tried to look out for him. Having someone legitimately concerned over his welfare had been a very new sensation for Kirk in those days and it had taken time for him to get used to it. Now? Now it was simply part of the way things were.

As if he had guessed where Kirk's thoughts had wandered, McCoy met his eyes and smiled briefly before starting the rest of the routine of getting them ready to go. Kirk debated internally briefly, then contacted Spock to let him know that he would be over the Bridge for the shift. That would both reward Spock for finding those breeding areas for McCoy and allow Kirk to observe the reaction of the Teenaxi elders to Gem.

When they entered the Sickbay area, the elders were already there, waiting. They were viewing Gem with what seemed to be a combination of curiosity and hope. As Kirk had hoped, Gem didn't even seem to notice them as she sat herself in the middle of the room where the young Teenaxi were being housed. The youngsters didn't know exactly what the young empath did, but they did know that her touches soothed and comforted, so those who could move on their own went to her without coaxing. She had worked on healing the most serious injuries the day before, so today she gave hugs and reassuring touches while the first Fibonan prisoner was forced into the room.

A wince crossed her face as she began to tap into the injuries of the children surrounding her and transferred them to the prisoner. The speed of the trasnfer sent the Fibonan into near immediate shock and McCoy's android nurses efficiently removed that one and replaced him with another.

When a child was fully healed, Gem would pause long enough to give that child a hug, then gently encourage them over to the waiting elders. As was only natural, the elders would examine each child as they came over. The ones that had been born on the Fibonan world had no names and the elders named each of them and welcomed them to their people. The children, of course, had no real idea of the significance, but knew that they felt safe and wanted. The rest, they woud come to understand when they were older.

It was a scene of contentment that Kirk doubted had ever been seen aboard any Imperial vessel. Well, unless you counted the dying Fibonans, which Kirk didn't. Even his crew was content because rotating parties of his crew were stripping the former Fibonan homeworld of anything valuable that was easily removed. A few Horta and some androids would be eventually be transferred to the planet to continue to gather resources for them. The crew might have been ambivalent about rescuing the young Teenaxi, but they were all for profit.

In all, it took Gem four days to return all of the surviving children to perfect health. By that time, only a half-dozen Fibonans remained to be executed. Two of them were turned over to Nurses Chapel and Minyawi to skin, the others were disposed of by transporting them into the matter/anti-matter chambers where they would be converted into fuel.

The Teenaxi ships had already headed back to their world and the elders were pleased when Kirk announced that the Enterprise was heading there as well. The thanks of the elders were effusive and they insisted that they must hold a feast to both welcome their young home and to thank their friends and allies aboard the Enterprise.

Noting with a smug smile that the thanks were being given to he and his crew with no mention of the Empire, Kirk accepted and said that it would be their honor to attend. Kirk called a meeting of his inner circle to inform them as well as decide who would attend to represent the ship.

Feeding the children and the elders had shown that the Teenaxi had a nearly pure protein diet and even the rare plant dish that crept into their diet was, at most, twenty percent vegetable. At the announcement of the feast, Spock had immediately volunteered himself to stay with the Enterprise as both Kirk and McCoy would doubtless be expected to be present. Kirk merely said that he'd think about it.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.296

We are currently escorting the Teenaxi back to their world and their leaders have requested that, after we arrive, we attend a feast in celebration of their victory over the Fibonans and the return of their young. I have accepted so I need to pick a delegation to go down as representatives. Bones and I will be expected, but what I understand, the Teenaxi have nearly nothing in their diets that Vulcan could eat, so I'll likely grant Spock's request to skip this function and leave him in charge of the ship.


	23. Chapter 23

Kirk kept Spock waiting until the Enterprise was orbiting Teenax before letting him know that he wouldn't have to attend the planned feast. Scott, to his great disappointment would also be remaining aboard as he hadn't taken part in the fighting and had only had minimal interaction with the elders. He was heartened when McCoy promised to bring him a doggie bag - which necessitated an explanation to Spock that the term wasn't an insult.

The six that would be representing the ISS Enterprise were McCoy, Uhura, Chekov, Sulu, Gem, and Kirk himself. The elders had already become accustomed to Gem's quiet ways and wouldn't be prone to taking insult if she didn't eat much.

As opposed to their first visit to Teenax instead of being greeted with suspicion, the Enterprise crew were welcomed as conquering heroes. That was another reason Kirk had decided to allow Spock to avoid the celebration - the Teenaxi were a passionate people. What they hated, they hated thoroughly, but when they decided they liked something, they were just as enthusiastic, if not more so. Even McCoy had to allow that being around them for a long period was exhausting.

During the tour they were given by the Speaker, they got a glimpse of at least two of the animals that were going to be part of the coming feast. The first was identified as a roage and looked a bit like a mad scientist had managed to produce offspring using a goat and a scorpion. Sulu made the quiet comment that he hoped roage tasted better than they looked. The other creature was called a viliar which McCoy said looked like a red wooled miniature cow.

The hall were the feast was going to be held was enormous and the structure was impressive. Despite their general disdain for clothing of any sort, the Teenaxi were builders and their ceremonial areas might have verged on monochromatic, but they were both sturdy and elaborately decorated even if Terran eyes had difficulty in picking out those details from a distance.

None of the Enterprise representatives had known exactly what to expect from a Teenaxi feast, but most had thought the food would likely be basic - large pieces of meat served on the bone such as the Klingons preferred to serve their meats. Instead, the dishes that were being laid out on the tables resembled offerings from fine dining establishments. Some of the meats had been roasted, but they were expertly sliced and arranged on platters. Various other meats had been prepared with a wide variety of sauces - enough to make McCoy wince and double check his medkit. The odds that there was something in one or more of the sauces that might trigger an allergic reaction in Kirk weren't good.

There were also a number of alcoholic beverages including one that resembled Klingon bloodwine. All in all, the Enterprise personnel were suitably impressed by the scope of the feast as they were escorted to their places of honor at the main table. A group of musicians were playing in a far corner, loud enough to be heard, but not so loud that it interfered with conversation. McCoy remarked that the basic tones put him in mind of New Orleans jazz and Uhura agreed.

Roage meat did prove to taste far better than the animal looked although the taste and texture were more like those they would normally have associated with seafood such as crab or lobster. The aroma of the food was inviting and Kirk didn't need any encouragement to dive in.

When Kirk refilled his plate a second time. McCoy began to relax. He was pleasantly surprised to note that nothing in the Teenaxi diet was bothering Kirk in the least. The Teenaxi didn't think anything was amiss when McCoy started eating later than the others as they assumed that, as the Captain's consort, he would make sure that Kirk's needs were attended to first. They also seemed amused rather than insulted that Gem preferred to eat the sauces that had been served with the meat rather than the meat itself. Of course, her care of the Teenaxi children had likely earned her a large amount of latitude.

Uhura was the first among them to try an effervescent wine that was offered. When Uhura asked, she was told it was called beyark. Thanking them as she sampled it, she was surprised by the delicacy of the flavor and complimented it to the delight of the Teenaxi who was pouring. McCoy didn't know it, but when he requested samples of all the different foods so that he could recreate them for the Captain in the future, he tipped the scales in the mind of the Teenaxi Speaker.

As the main part of the meal drew to a close, more beverages were offered along with some variation of bread rolls that had fruit preserves in their center. From watching their hosts, it became obvious that everyone was expected to take one of the rolls. Once everyone had one, the Speaker nimbly leapt to the top of a podium that overlooked the table.

Kirk attempted not to wince. He had hoped he could get through one formal dinner without speeches, but this was obviously not going to be that occasion. Leaning forward slightly, the Speaker began.

"You have fought by our sides. You have eaten our food. You have drank from our cups. You are true allies to the Teenaxi and we wish to show that the Teenaxi are allies to you as well."

The Teenaxi had many similarities, but Kirk had been around them long enough now that he recognized the two young males that were being called forward as part of the group that had worked to guard McCoy. Their names were worse than Vulcan ones to pronounce.

"We offer you two of our finest youth to join your crew."

The odds were high, of course, that the two would be spies for their leaders, but that was par for the course in the Empire. Rising to his feet, Kirk looked over the pair. Both had donned some type of shirt, but still wore nothing from the waist down.

"On behalf of myself and my crew, I accept and to seal the bond, I will give you names of honor among my people - Kevin and Reilly."

The cheers from the other Teenaxi made it difficult to hear Uhura's question.

"Not complaining, Sir, but why those names?"

Flashing her a brilliant smile, he answered her as the others leaned closer to hear.

"Let's call it a tribute to our Kobayashi team and the man we lost. Besides, they don't wear pants and, let's face it, there was more than one occasion at the Academy when Kevin Reilly lost his."

Uhura made a sound that was half-laugh, half-snort as she picked her glass up.

"That sounds like the kind of weird tribute that would have made Kevin happy. To the lost member of our kickass winning team. To Kevin Reilly."

The others drank to him as well - even Gem, who had tried the beyark and liked it. The festivities ended shortly after the Speaker's feast and the Teenaxi sent the crew back to the Enterprise with plenty of food and drink - part of which McCoy would take to Scotty. Not only for the ever-hungry Engineer to eat, but for him to scan into the replicator system for addition to the ship's menu offerings.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.299

The Teenaxi know how to throw a proper celebration. In recognition of our new allegiance, I accepted two of their people to join the Enterprise crew. I can't pronounce their real names, but I'm calling them Kevin and Reilly, which they don't mind answering to.

I told the others that the names were in tribute to the lost member of our Kobayashi team - they won't wear pants and Kevin was known for losing his. Nyota snorted and said that's the sort of tribute would probably have made him happy.


	24. Chapter 24

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.31

The time has come to head back to the Yorktown. I'm not looking forward to it because I really haven't thought of a good reason for turning down the promotion to Vice Admiral. There's no way I can accept, but flat out refusing could led to a lot of problems I don't want to deal with yet.

Maybe I can figure out something that will allow me to postpone giving my answer? I'll ask Bones for his input. Between us, surely we can come up with a delaying tactic.

* * *

Finishing his log recording, Kirk sat back with a sigh, eyes fixed on a book that McCoy had given him - one the many that had come from his family - books that had been banned and ordered destroyed by the Emperor. Kirk wondered briefly if McCoy's former wife were still alive and if it had ever occured to her that she could have ruined McCoy simply by turning him in for the books in the family's library.

Reaching over and picking up the leather bound copy of 'The Art of War'He supposed it wouldn't be realistic for him to be able to take his rightful place in the universe without the occasional problem, but there were easily a hundred things he would rather be doing than trying to avoid the trap that the Vice Admiral position was the bait for.

Kirk opened the volume at random and scanned the page, stopping at a line that caught his eye. "According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans." He was still considering that statement as he activated the intercom on his desk.

"Doctor McCoy - report to the Captain's quarters immediately."

Kirk knew what project McCoy was working on currently - making sure that the replicators produced food that were nutritionally adequate for the needs of their new Teenaxi crewmen. The foods from their world were available through the replicators within hours of the samples being given to Scotty who added his approval to the food items when he tried them himself, but fine-tuning of the vitamin and mineral content was always necessary.

It was either luck or serendipity that both of the Teenaxi males quickly adjusted to the ISS Enterprise. Kevin and Keenser took a liking to one another as did Reilly and Alexander. They had both proven to be quick learners and excelled at navigating the Jeffries tubes. Kirk's thoughts had wandered to having android Teenaxi made when the signal came that McCoy had arrived.

When allowed to enter, McCoy noticed what book Kirk was looking at and smiled slightly.

"Gearing up for a fight at Yorktown?"

"More looking to avoid a fight at Yorktown. I want us to make our move when we're ready, not because we've been forced to."

Settling down in his usual chair, McCoy nodded.

"Sensible. You have four options, right?"

Kirk leaned over to pour McCoy a glass of his preferred bourbon.

"Four?"

Automatically scanning his glass before taking a sip, McCoy nodded again.

"One - you accept. Which is a valid option, if a poor one. Two - you outright reject it. Also a valid option and an equally poor choice. Three - you ignore it, but that's risky and might piss off the current powers that be. Four - you evade."

"Evades is the option I'd preferred, but the question remains on how to do it."

McCoy lifted in his glass in a salute.

"Same way you always do it. You acknowledge the situation and you keep your eyes open for any and all opportunities, however slim. Sure, something might pop up that only puts off you giving an answer for a day or two, but who knows what else might crop up in those two days? You've already built a base without a single direct attack against the Emperor. One day, he's gonna sit down on that throne of his and find the bottom's been rotted out from underneath him."

Lifting his glass in a rare moment of introspection, Kirk looked over at McCoy.

"Will I be any better, Bones?"

Snorting, McCoy leaned back in his chair.

"Hell, yes. You really think I'd be backing you the way I am if I thought otherwise? Give me a little credit here, Jim."

Kirk began to laugh and McCoy waited until he finished before speaking again.

"We go into the lion's den knowing the lion is there and hungry. For now - we don't poke it, we appease it without feeding it any of our own limbs or those of our allies. When the day comes that you're ready? We'll put a lion skin rug in front of your throne."

Kirk gave his consort a leer at that.

"And will you lounge on it for me?"

McCoy toyed with the ring on his pinkie finger for a moment before giving Kirk a steamy look in return.

"I don't see a problem with that."

Kirk barely took the time to inform Spock that he would be in charge of the Bridge during the next shift and that Doctor McCoy would be unavailable for anything but extreme emergencies.


	25. Chapter 25

Kirk was in a decent mood as he headed toward the Bridge when he found himself being intercepted by the unexpected pair of Kevin and Reilly. Apparently the spokesman of the two, Kevin spoke up.

"We would like a few minutes of your time, Sir Kirk."

Still amused by the way the Teenaxi used Captain and Sir interchangeably, Kirk only debated briefly before allowing the audience. Gesturing to a nearby room, one of his bodyguards entered first while the second one brought up the rear.

Sitting down and motioning for the Teenaxi to do the same, he went straight to the point.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?"

Leaping easily onto the seat, Kevin huffed slightly.

"That is what we are concerned with, Sir Kirk. The cursed item that the Fibonan scum tried to inflict on our people - what became of it?"

Not expecting that question, Kirk saw no harm in answering it anyway,

"We have it placed in our storage vaults."

Both Teenaxians hissed at that news.

"It is bed - it is cursed! You must not keep it on this ship, Sir Kirk. It will bring death and destruction on us all!"

The reaction seemed a bit extreme for what Kirk considered to be a worthless hunk of old metal, but since he had no plans to keep it, he saw no reason not to acquiesce to his Teenaxi crewmen on the matter.

"It will be off of our ship once we reach Yorktown Station tomorrow. I will be transferring it over to them."

He didn't miss the way that the pair exchanged glances. After a long pause, Kevin spoke again.

"They should destroy it. It will bring nothing but woe."

"That is up to the base commander, but be assured that I will tell her of your concerns and advise that it be disposed of."

The pair seemed to be resigned that his comments were the best that they could expect and bowed their heads to him.

"Our thanks, Sir Kirk. We know that the Imperial way is not always as the Teenaxi way."

Rising to his feet again, Kirk smiled slightly.

"You were right about the treachery of the Fibonan. I will remind the commander of that as well. Thank you for your concern for the ship and crew."

Kevin's voice registered a bit of shock.

"We must always look for the greater good of this ship. We are all Battle Brothers."

Rather liking that concept, Kirk's smile increased.

"Of course, I should have remembered. My crew and I are honored to have shed blood with you and your people."

That was apparently exactly the right thing to say as both Teenaxi looked up proudly.

"Thank you, Sir Kirk. With your permission, we will return to our duties."

"Permission granted - I must also return to mine."

As he started back for the Bridge, Kirk's thoughts turned back to the so-called artifact the Fibonans had given to be presented to the Teenaxi elders. It hadn't been one of their own relicts and it certainly hadn't been lucky for them. Chuckling to himself at even entertaining the notion of a bad-luck magnet, he stepped onto the Bridge and took a satisfying look around. Perhaps when the day came that he would sit on the Imperial Throne, he would alter the layout of the court to resemble the Bridge.

Those pleasant musings were broken into by Uhura's voice.

"Captain - we are receiving a high priority classified message from Commander Paris."

"Route the message to my briefing room. Inform Doctor McCoy to meet me there. Mister Spock, with me. Mister Sulu, take the conn."

Not paying any attention to the acknowledgment of his orders, Kirk headed immediately for the briefing room with Spock close behind him. McCoy arrived only a couple of minutes behind them.

"Is there a problem, Jim?"

Gesturing for everyone to be seated, Kirk reached to activate the room's console.

"That's what we're about to find out."

Commander Paris appeared on the screen. Both Spock and McCoy remained quiet to listen in.

"Captain Kirk. We have had an unusual occurrence at the station. An escape pod arrived at our station holding a single female of a previously unknown race. Through the translator, she has told us that she and her crew were on a scientific mission inside the nebula. Their ship suffered a catastrophic failure and is now stranded on a planet inside the nebula. The Enterprise is the only vessel in the quadrant with sensors capable of attempting a rescue and retrieval mission."

There before him, Kirk saw the delaying tactic he needed, but he knew better than to seem too eager.

"What rules of salvage apply, Commander?"

A smile played on the edge of her lips as Paris answered.

"The vessel does not belong to anyone under protection of the Imperial treaties. Full salvage rights."

"We will require a few days to prepare, but we will take on the mission, Commander."

"Excellent. We will see you tomorrow, Captain. Paris out."

It wasn't until the connection ended that Kirk saw that neither Spock or McCoy seemed happy.

"Problem, gentlemen?"

"There are numerous questions that I would have liked to have had answers to before agreeing to undertake such a mission, Captain."

McCoy looked in full agreement with Spock.

"This doesn't pass the smell test, Jim."

Chuckling at McCoy's usual odd turn of phrase, Kirk brushed aside their concerns.

"We needed a delay - we've got a delay. We'll worry about the details later. Back to work."

Neither man was pleased, but neither made further argument for the time being. Using the replicator to provide him with coffee and a sandwich, Kirk ate slowly. While he was still inclined to consider Spock and McCoy were being unnecessarily cautious, the very fact that they seemed to be in full accord told him that he might have been a bit hasty. Maybe.

Taking a final swallow of coffee, he activated his log.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.314

We won't reach the Yorktown until tomorrow, but we received a classified message from the station requesting our help. Seems the science team from a non-Imperial world managed to crash on a planet located inside the nebula that the Yorktown is near. The Yorktown commander is requesting that the Enterprise take on the rescue and salvage mission.

I didn't even need to consider that before accepting. Looks like my delaying tactic has been provided for me. Bones and Spock are less enthusiastic, but that's hardly unusual for either of them.


	26. Chapter 26

The Enterprise had just finished completing the docking procedures when a call came in from Commander Paris requesting that Kirk attend a briefing. It seemed peculiar that none of his other staff was requested to join, but he mentally shrugged that off and summoned two of his bodyguards to accompany him.

On entering the room, Kirk's gaze went immediately to the alien woman. Basically humanoid, but clearly not of any of the species recognized by the Empire or any of their allies. Even the translator was having difficulty in decyphering her speech patterns.

Paris introduced the woman as Kalara and related what little they had been able to learn of her situation. She was a member of a crew on a scientific mission in the nebula. Their ship sustained damage and was forced to land. Before they entered the atmosphere, Kalara took an escape pod in hopes of finding assistance for the rest of the crew.

Several parts of Kalara's story didn't make much sense to Kirk. One, why was only one escape pod launched? Two, why would the only escape pod launched not have been assigned to a higher ranking officer - which Kalara was not, by her own admission. Three, how did an escape pod from a ship that had no contact with the Yorktown find it's way our of the nebula and at the station? The odds against that had to be astonomical.

Kirk continued listening but his mind was busy running over the possibilities. Discounting the improbability of Kalara accidently coming to the Yorktown, that meant that, even if the Yorktown was ignorant of her and her ship, Kalara was fully aware of the Yorktown's existance. That led to two possible paths. Either her ship really was disabled and she wanted help but, for whatever reason, didn't want to reveal that she already knew about the Yorktown before arriving or it was some sort of trick. His gut leaned heavily on the side of trick.

Still, there were positives to be consided. Even if her ship wasn't disabled, he doubted it could best the Enterprise in combat. Once taken, the information that they pulled from the ship's computers could be hightly valuable. Kirk also took into consideration the fact that this mission gave him the delaying tactic that he needed.

The fact that both McCoy and Spock thought there was something off about this mission matched his own gut reaction after meeting Kalara. Still, this wasn't striking him as any sort of Imperial plot and Kirk would bet on his crew any day of the week against any other crew. After weighing everything in his mind, Kirk still viewed the positives as outweighing the negatives and reaffirmed that he would take on the mission to locate the missing ship and crew.

Had he been able to translate the expression on Kalara's face as slightly smug, Kirk might have felt far less at ease with his decision.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.317

As soon as we docked, I was pulled into a meeting about this science team we're supposed to find in an uncharted area of the nebula. I'm not at all sure about this Kalara character. Abandoning her ship ahead of her superior officers seems peculiar, but who knows how non-Imperial worlds do things?

Whether we actually rescue anyone or not, what I want to find is the navigational charts from their vessel. It might take some time for Spock and his team to translate them, but the knowledge would be priceless.

* * *

When Kirk came back aboard, he began giving orders for a rapid restocking of the ship as well as a full diagnostic on the sensor array - they would be depending on their sensors far more than usual inside the nebula. He did take the time to have the Fibonan artifact removed from their storage and, on further reflection, presented it to Commander Paris. She accepted it with some amusement after Kirk passed along the Teenaxi's feeling on it. Officially, she filed it it the Yorktown vaults. Unofficially, she decided to keep it in her personal office.

Kirk ended up spending the majority of that day with Paris, learning as much about her as he could, including her first name - Shohreh. While technically a Commodore, she preferred using the title of her position as Station Commander rather than her military rank. It was, she said, far less confusing for the civilians of the station.

McCoy would, of course, attribute at least part of Kirk's fascination with her to his attraction to more mature women - and Kirk couldn't deny that was part of it. In his experience, a more mature woman wouldn't hesitate to state her preferences whether in regard to food or sex. Younger women had their own merits, but he found the majority of them tiresome as most seemed to expect him to be a mindreader. Fine for one-night stands, but as McCoy had once predicted, one-night stands no longer held the same amount of appeal that they once did.

When McCoy joined them for lunch the next day, he didn't seem particularly surprised to find Kirk and Paris calling one another by their first names. He would have been more surprised if the two hadn't gotten along. They were both individuals who were wary, hyper-intelligent, ambitous, and had deep hedonistic streaks. Like T'Pau, she could be a worthy ally to cultivate and, as he did with Kirk's ongoing relationship with Rashea, McCoy approved and made his approval clear - which also amused Paris who openly admired McCoy's hands. Instead of jealousy, Kirk found himself feeling admiration for the lady's taste.

Spock finally met Kalara as well and asked her several questions regarding the mission her ship was on. Her answers seemed straight forward, but he mentioned to McCoy that he felt there was more left unsaid and, while he still disliked judging things on a non-factual basis, Spock had the impression she was being evasive. For something to strike Spock that strongly that he would risk embarrassing himself to mention it? That convinced McCoy to make sure that he kept close tabs on this Kalara character.

Entering the Captain's quarters, McCoy started to speak, but fell silent as he heard Kirk recording in his log.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.32

Scotty is running full diagnostics and maintenance on our sensors since we'll be relying on them very heavily once we enter the nebula. According to Scotty, we should be ready to leave within forty-eight hours. Kalara will be accompanying us. Bones was concerned about that decision but didn't argue. I'm simply following the old rule of keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Pike and Boyce are still on the Yorktown, so Bones and I will be meeting them during our downtime to discuss more of our future plans.

* * *

Seeing McCoy standing and waiting, Kirk smirked and patted the seat next to him. McCoy made a short detour to pick up a bottle and two glasses on the way.

"Glad to hear you're viewing Kalara as an enemy."

Shrugging, Kirk waited until McCoy had completed his usual routine - check the bottle, check the contents, check the glasses, check the contents again once they were in the glasses. Once done, McCoy offered over one glass while keeping the other for himself.

"She might not be quite in the class of an enemy, but she's not an ally either and that makes her worth keeping a close eye on."

"No argument from me on that point, Jim. So, we're meeting wth Pike and Boyce again?"

"Not so much a meeting-meeting as a sharing of thoughts on the future. But enough business for the day. We have two more days to deal with that dreck."

So saying, Kirk took a long sip from his glass and cast a lecherous look at his consort. When it was returned in equal measure, he knew it would be a very good night.


	27. Chapter 27

Kirk wasn't expecting to get another request for a meeting from Paris and his first inclination was to avoid her. There was, after all, the chance that she might have been given orders to pin him down over whether he would take the promotion or not. In the end, he allowed the fact that he found her both interesting and attractive to sway his decision and sent a message that, while he already had a meeting scheduled for the morning, he was available to meet with her in the afternoon if that would be acceptable. The return message said that was perfectly acceptable. He smiled at the informality of the response which included her calling him Jim.

The morning meeting with Pike and Boyce was low-keyed as expected. Kirk couldn't help but note Pike's annoyance that McCoy wouldn't initiate any conversation with him yet was extremely chatty with Boyce. Since McCoy wasn't refusing to talk if Pike asked him something and remained coldly polite, Kirk wasn't inclined to intervene. Pike had been the cause of that Southern ice front and he could damn well live with the consequences. It probably amused Kirk far more than it should have when, at the end of their shared meal, the two doctors went off together, still chatting, as Kirk took his leave to head to his meeting with Paris, leaving Pike by himself and looking disgruntled.

When he arrived at Paris' quarters, the way she welcomed him told him that it wasn't a meeting of the minds that she was after. He certainly didn't mind indulging in an extra dessert and the pillow talk afterward was food for thought as well. Even in that pleasantly muzzy period following sex, she never said a single thing that would have incriminated her, which he considered extremely impressive since she still managed to convey her distaste with some of the Emperor's more recent rulings as well as her feelings that the Imperial holdings furthest from Earth were not getting their fair share of attention and funding leaving the outermost stations in a perpetual state of compromise.

Their meeting lasted the rest of the afternoon, ending with having a quiet dinner together before Kirk headed back to his ship. His intention had been to find McCoy for a long talk, but when he went by Sickbay, he found McCoy was performing emergency surgery. From the scuttlebutt, a junior crewman had made the near fatal mistake of getting between Chekov and Sulu when the two were having a disagreement.

As he headed for his quarters, Kirk wondered if the junior crewman was suidical, stupid, or had suffered from horribly bad timing. After thinking it through, he decided it must have been bad timing. McCoy wouldn't be wasting his time on a crewman that he had determined was too dumb to waste air and living space on.

After settling that question to his own satisfaction, his mind wandered to wondering what Sulu and Chekov were fighting about this time. It could have been practically anything - they tended to squabble like siblings. Siblings with very sharp blades and the training to use them to their best effect. As he poured himself a drink and checked it for tampering, he gave a mental shrug and decided he didn't particularly care what the fight was about. So long as they didn't damage his ship or anyone important to her performance, that is.

A few sips later, he turned on his recorder and made a brief log entry.

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.35

Commander Paris requested a word with me today. At first, I considered avoiding her in case she was going to demand an answer as to whether or not I was accepting my commission, but I decided to take a chance and see what she wanted.

It was an intriguing conversation with nothing being said outright and opinions being given only as reports of things that others had been overheard saying, but if you piece it all together, Commander Paris isn't happy with the Emperor and his attitude toward the dangers facing her station.

* * *

Swirling the liquid remaining in his glass idly, Kirk mused about creating an android duplicate for Paris and wondered if she would prefer one that looked as she did now or if she would prefer a younger edition of herself. It was a intriguing question. After all, if you had to pick out an outfit that you would be forced to wear for the next few centuries, what would the over-riding factor be? If forced to choose, would you want to inspire admiration or respect?

Kirk was well aware of his own strong streak of vanity and knew that, personally, he would choose a body form that would draw admiration. His actions would be what would bring him respect - or fear. Probably both. He was relatively certain that McCoy would feel the same way. Smiling to himself, he pictured McCoy standing under the sonics. As much as the man might protest and say he was only taking care of his body for his health, McCoy had a pretty hefty streak of vanity himself and was well versed in what color and styles looked best on him.

The warmth of the drink after the afternoon's activities was giving him a pleasantly drowsy sensation and Kirk decided to indulge himself with a nap. It turned out to be less of a nap and more of an early bedtime. He didn't know exactly when McCoy came into the room, but he woke briefly as the obviously exhausted doctor joined him in the bed.

Automatically scooting over slightly to make room, Kirk only gave momentary consideration to attempting to talk with McCoy. The likelyhood of anything coherant was low and the likelyhood of being cussed out in a very thick Southern accent was high, so he reclosed his eyes. Tomorrow was soon enough for getting the doctor's opinion.


	28. Chapter 28

Kirk woke to the smell of coffee and found that McCoy was not only already awake, he had managed to shower and get dressed without waking Kirk. Stretching cat-like, Kirk smiled as McCoy offered him one of the cups of coffee. The temperature was perfect, hot but not too hot, which meant it didn't last very long.

Passing back the empty cup, Kirk headed for the shower himself.

"I need to meet with Scotty. Take care of whatever you need to in Sickbay while I'm doing that, then meet me in our private area for lunch. You can pick out what we eat."

One of McCoy's brows canted slightly. Kirk didn't allow McCoy to choose the menu often because of what he termed as the doctor's unnatural obsession with vegetables. Something was up. The question was what.

Shrugging to himself, McCoy ordered up a breakfast so that it would be waiting for Kirk when he emerged from the shower, then headed for Sickbay.

Finding the room empty when he emerged from his shower was something Kirk expected. What he didn't expect was to be met by the mingled aromas of coffee, pancakes and bacon. The apple compote on top of the pancakes pushed the breakfast over the top enough that Kirk was immediately suspicious that someone other than McCoy had left it, so he scanned everything twice before he was satisfied that it was safe to eat. Once satisfied though, he ate with gusto before pushing away from the table and getting ready to meet with Scott.

As usual, Scott wasn't hard to find. He was rarely found far from the heart of his Lady. He saw Kirk and came away from the main panel, wiping his hands off.

"All sensors have been recalibrated and we're going through the rechecks now, Captain. She's better than the day she first left the docks."

Kirk looked around, feeling much of the same pride in their vessel as he nodded.

"We're leaving out tomorrow then."

"We'll be ready, Sir. Anything else?"

Kirk's eyes narrowed in thought before he spoke.

"We're going to have a passenger - Kalara. I'll get you an image of her. You see here anywhere near Engineering without me by her side? Kill her."

Scott hesitated to see if Kirk was serious. When it was obvious that the Captain was very serious, Scott straightened and gave a sharp nod.

"Once I have her image, I'll show it to all my lads. She'll not get far if she comes here."

"Excellent. Carry on, Mister Scott."

"Aye, Sir."

Despite his words, Kirk didn't leave immediately. Instead, he took a slow tour of Engineering. The thrum of the power coursing through the ship managed to simultaneously soothe and excite him like nothing else could. The engineers took their cues from Scott and only paid enough attention to the Captain to get out of his way.

In the end, he remains roaming the area until it was time to meet McCoy for lunch. There was a collective deep breath taken by the Engineering staff once the doors closed behind their Captain.

Kirk paid very little attention to the crew who were scrambling to make sure they were out of his way as he headed to meet McCoy. When the door to their private area opened, he stopped and took a deep, appreciative breath. Moving to the table, he saw that his nose hadn't lied - a bacon cheeseburger with the works. There was even a pile of perfectly crispy French fries to accompany it. As with the breakfast, his mouth watered, but he was immediately suspicious. To McCoy's great amusement.

"It's real. Scan it and then sit down and eat it while it's still hot."

The first bite got an almost obscene moan from Kirk as he savored the flavor. He had no idea how McCoy had managed it, but everything on his plate was the genuine article - not a single item was synthesized. McCoy saw the question in Kirk's eyes and simply held up a hand.

"Eat now. It would be a shame to waste this and there was be plenty of time for questions after we eat."

Finding no fault with that reasoning, Kirk gave in and thoroughly enjoyed not one, but two bacon cheeseburgers. Smirking, McCoy ate his own burgers - his having considerably more of what Kirk called salad on them. Once the burgers and every last fry had been devoured, Kirk sat back, giving a very satisfied sigh. His questioning of McCoy was only one word.

"How?"

Laughing, McCoy reached for a bottle and poured them both an after-dinner drink.

"One thing you might not realize, but to be an effective CMO in the Empire, you need more than doctoring skills. You need a network of black market operatives that you can get the supplies you need from that the supply branch of Imperial Medical won't send."

Kirk paused with his drink halfway to his mouth.

" **Won't** send? Why the hell not?"

"Not enough money to be made from it. Only ships with the Emperor onboard have any hopes of being fully stocked. The supplies I get at starbases? That's stuff that I trade to get what I really need. That or I barter services."

McCoy gave a shrug.

"I didn't create the system nor am I in any position to alter it, so I've learned to play the game to make sure the Enterprise is provisioned to the best of my abilities. I was lucky that part of Puri becoming my mentor back at the Academy included him introducing me to a few key players."

Eyes narrowed in contemplation, Kirk stared at the liquid in his glass.

"So . . . the Empire buys the supplies. Those in charge of the supplies sell them to the black market and the black market sells us the supplies that should have been ours in the first place at an exorbitant fee?"

"It can get a bit more complex than that, but you have the basics down, Jim."

The scowl on Kirk's face deepened.

"We'll be changing that."

Lifting his own glass in salute, McCoy smiled.

"I look forward to that. For now? Don't let this ruin the mood that a good meal provided. That would make me feel like all the effort I went through to get it was for nothing."

Taking a deep breath, Kirk forced himself to compartmentalize the problem. It was a problem for another day and McCoy was right. It would be a shame to allow it to ruin what had been the best meal he'd had since they'd left Earth.

"Point taken, Bones. Besides, I want to discuss Commander Paris with you."

No one who only knew McCoy casually could imagine how attentive a listener he could be. He sipped his drink and said not a single word while Kirk told him, in great detail. all about the meeting.

"well? What do you think?"

The silence extended as McCoy gave the matter more thought before speaking.

"I think that, somehow or other, she or a spy in her employ managed to overhear some of the talk between you and Pike. I also think that she's letting you know that she's not opposed to your plans if you're serious about them. Furthermore, I think she's indicating that she might be willing to back us when the time comes."

Holding his glass out to be refilled, Kirk gave a slow nod of agreement.

"Why else bother mentioning that she was unhappy with the way the Emperor is dealing with her problems. She'd make a good ally."

"She'd also make a nasty enemy. Giving the option, I'd rather have her on our side."

This time, it was Kirk who saluted with his glass.

"Same here, Bones. To one more worthwhile ally in our camp."

"I'll drink to that."

* * *

Captain's log - Stardate 2262.38

I checked in with Scotty. We'll be departing Yorktown tomorrow.

I took Bones to our private space and told him about my vague conversation with Commander Paris and asked him what he thought it meant. He said it sounded to him like some of my talks with Pike were overheard despite our precautions. Also, if we're serious, she's unhappy enough that she might be willing to jump ship and join us.

Commander Paris is a lot like Uhura - she got where she is by ability. She'd be a worthwhile ally.


	29. Chapter 29

Kirk rose earlier than usual, stretching while feeling the deep thrill he always felt when it was time to head back into the Black. Sliding out of his bed to avoid disturbing McCoy, he headed into the shower to begin his morning routine. To his surprise, he didn't need to rouse McCoy - the doctor was already awake before Kirk finished his shower and had coffee ready.

"Mind if I'm on the Bridge when we leave?"

A simple question, but it took Kirk by surprise. McCoy didn't normally care to be on the Bridge when they left dock, but if he wanted to be there, Kirk had no objections.

"If you like. That reminds me - I need to assign Security to stay with Kalara. I don't want her unattended at any time."

Making only a grunting noise that might have been approval, McCoy seemed to concentrate on finishing his coffee before starting his own morning routine. By the time they were ready, word came from the Bridge that Kalara was ready to be beamed aboard. Kirk made a quick call to Security to have them meet her in the Transporter Room, ensure that she had no weapons on her, and then escort her directly to the Bridge.

The rest of the command crew were already at their stations as McCoy settled into the consort position. Kalara was escorted in a few minutes later and seemed surprised at where McCoy was seated. None of the others seemed to think her reaction was odd but, though he was careful not to let his suspicions show, McCoy wondered how she would know the significance of his position if she had never been in contact with an Imperial ship before. Keeping her in his peripheral vision, he looked to the main view screen as the undocking sequence commenced.

For his part, Kirk had paid only momentary attention to Kalara. While he had noticed Kalara's glance at McCoy, she had been bright enough not to comment and so he didn't give the matter any further thought. His current main focus was the feel of his ship around him. The sight of her pulling back from her moorings and exiting the starbase. Even Spock now knew not to interrupt him in moments like these until Kirk shifted slightly back into his chair. At that signal, Spock began to speak.

"As you all know, once we have entered the nebula, we will lose all communications beyond onboard. We will need to enter with great caution and maintain a speed far lower than our usual travel velocity. Even with sensors as advanced as those aboard the Enterprise, the nebula will have a tendency to show false readings until we are at a closer proximity to the area being scanned."

McCoy barely paid any attention. He had heard it all before from Kirk. His main attention continued to be keeping a covert watch on Kalara who, for her own part, seemed to have already dismissed him as a concern, splitting her own attention between Kirk and Spock. A thin smile appeared briefly. Let her ignore him - even better, let her forget he was even there. It would make it all the easier for him to keep an eye on her. Something was very wrong about this mission and whatever it was? It centered on the alien woman. He was quite certain of that.

A brief glance over to Spock showed McCoy that the Vulcan was also keeping an eye on the woman even as he continued to spew out a seeming unending stream of known facts about the nebula. Seeing McCoy's glance, Spock gave him a barely noticeable nod. McCoy returned the nod as a slight smile formed. It really was quite remarkable how well they could communicate now that Spock no longer treated him as a rival. Pike had been right about that.

A glance back to the screen showed that the majority of the view was now taken up by the nebula even though they were still fair distance away from it. There were no precise measurements as to exactly how large this section of space was. Most ships would enter the area and become hopelessly disoriented by their sensor readings. Many were lost and those few that had made it back out did so by sheer luck.

The thought that they were about to be the first ship to go willingly this deep into the nebula was a thought that was uncomfortable - to say the least. The Enterprise sensors were currently the best in the fleet, but when all was said and done, it was only conjecture that their sensors would remain operational beyond the fringes of the nebula. They had been tested, but never actually operated in the real life situation.

From the position of Kirk's hand, he was making a log entry while keeping his voice low enough to avoid being heard over the sound of Spock's voice. Once he finished, as if sensing his consort's thoughts, Kirk leaned forward just enough to rest a hand on McCoy's shoulder, giving the doctor a wink when he turned to look at him. Giving his Captain a small smile in answer, McCoy took a deep breath and double-checked his dagger, his hidden scalpels, and his secondary med pouch - the one filled with a variety of nasty and potentially lethal substances. It was too late to turn back now. Whatever was going to happen, was going to happen. The best he could do is to continue to keep a close watch on Kalara and brace himself to be ready for anything.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.384

We're getting ready to leave the Yorktown. Not hard to tell Bones is feeling uneasy about this mission as he's on the Bridge. Kalara is staring at him sitting in the consort's position, but she's at least bright enough not to comment.

Spock reminded us that once we enter the nebula, all communications outside of the ship will terminate. I don't consider that a reason for concern. If something happens to us, there's no-one outside of this ship I would trust to come to our assistance anyway.


	30. Chapter 30

Kirk's mood swung between tense, excited, annoyed, and amused as they drew closer to entering the nebula. The amusement came from watching McCoy, who was doing his best to appear totally at ease since that seemed to be irritating Kalara. She kept casting glances at the doctor as if she expected someone to make him move off the Bridge. The crew, of course, knew that anyone that suggested McCoy leave his position had best be prepared to fight over the right to be the Captain's consort. None of them had the desire or the suicidal tendencies to even consider it. Not to mention the fact that Kalara's comfort was not something they were worried about.

Leaning back a bit, McCoy considered the nebula.

"You know, it's actually rather attractive. It has a sort of dark beauty to it - a little like a k'karee."

Spock's head turned from his station and he took his own time looking over the viewscreen.

"I would not argue with that assessment, Doctor."

Kalara looked somewhat irritated and puzzled, but it was Chekov that voiced the question.

"A k'karee?"

The question was not directed to anyone in particular, so Spock chose to answer.

"A Vulcan snake most similar to the Terran spitting cobra. Attractive, but quite dangerous to the unwary."

Uhura spoke up then.

"Captain? We have a communication from the Yorktown. We will be out of their range in just a few minutes."

Nodding, Kirk rose from his chair.

"Send it to my ready room. Mister Spock - you have the con. Bones?"

McCoy didn't hesitate to follow even though he was uneasy about leaving his watch on Kalara. Still, he didn't think they would be gone long. Kirk sealed off the room as soon as McCoy was inside as time was very limited. The second the call was patched through, Paris began.

"Jim - the technology on it was alien enough that it took my chief engineer quite some time to figure out, but it's like you speculated - Kalara didn't happen upon us by accident. Once he found where to look, he found our coordinates had been programmed into that so-called escape pod. Which had both more fuel and more power reserves than any other escape pod he's ever examined or heard tell of. Watch your back."

Kirk cast a glance over to McCoy that she didn't miss.

"I've got someone watching it for me, Shohreh. Thank you - and I owe you one."

"Good - I'll collect when you return. Yorktown out."

There was only a moment of silence before McCoy chuckled.

"So, you didn't totally blow off how Spock and I felt about this mission stinking?"

"I didn't ignore either of your concerns. I weighed them with the benefits and the benefits won out. Doesn't mean I was going to - how do you put that? - stick all my eggs in one basket?"

"Yeah, that's the saying."

"Makes about as much sense as your other sayings."

"Only because you don't know the story behind it."

"What? You didn't make that up?"

"No, I didn't, Captain Smartass. I'll tell you sometime, but right now, I'd like to get my eyes back on Kalara. Her whole attitude is . . . is . . . I dunno. Like she waiting for something to happen."

"Head on back to the Bridge. I need to update my log and I'll be right behind you."

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.385

As we approached the nebula, Bones remarked that it had a sort of dark beauty - kind of like a venomous snake does. He seemed to make the remark mostly to annoy Kalara, still, hard to dispute the truth of what he said.

I wonder why they even call this region a nebula. It doesn't look like any nebula I've seen before. I'll have to remember to ask Spock about that later. Preferably when I have a stiff drink in hand and Bones nearby with the bottle to keep the booze flowing.

* * *

Kirk settled back into his chair just as the warning came that they were entering the outer boundaries of the nebula. All communication with the outside was now cut off. That part didn't bother Kirk much - as he'd already logged, it wasn't as if there was anyone he would trust to call for assistance who would be close enough to actually assist if they did run into trouble. He didn't miss the tenseness in his consort's body though. He chalked that up to the basic doctor habit of looking for trouble before it happens.

Both men at the helm were tense as well until the Enterprise's sensors proved themselves up to the task of leading them through the area - the densest nebula currently known to Imperial Starfleet.

McCoy was feeling more and more like they were flying into a snake's mouth, but he tried not to think about that too much as he kept his main focus on Kalara, whose own eyes rarely left the viewscreen. That anticipation was practically screaming in her stance now. She was expecting something to happen, but didn't know when - he would have bet his best bottle of whiskey on that.

Then Chekov called out.

"Captain, our readings indicate that the cloud density is diminishing, sir."

As they entered into a clearer zone, a planet came into view and Kalara spoke through her translator.

"That is our destination - that is Altamid, where my ship and crew are stranded."

Kirk glanced toward Spock, who responded to the implied command.

"Planet is Class M, Captain. Initial scanning indicates vast subterranean elements, but very little in the way of surface structures. We are not picking up any strong life form readings. Either life forms are minimal or they live below ground."

Without warning, the yellow alert lights and klaxons came to life.

"Proximity alert, sir! Unknown vessel approaching!"

"Standard hailing, Lieutenant Uhura."

"Aye, sir. I am not getting any response I recognize . . . but there is a signal of some - Captain! We're being jammed!"

Everyone's eyes were on Kirk except for McCoy's. His were still on Kalara and he didn't like what he was seeing. She wasn't shocked at all.

McCoy shifted his position as Kirk got to his feet, his voice rising as well.

"Magnify that image. Let's see what we're dealing with."

At first, it looked like a huge ship coming nearer, but magnification showed the truth. Not one large ship, but hundreds of much smaller ones. For two beats, Kirk absorbed and processed what he was seeing, then he began yelling.

"Red Alert! All shields to full!"

There was a slight smile on Kalara's face as she watched Kirk, then her eyes widened and she emitted a soft gasp as McCoy's blade very efficiently drove up underneath her ribs and into her heart. Shoving her body off of his knife rather than pulling it out of her, McCoy turned his head until he met Spock's eyes. Whatever their eyes communicated to one another was sufficient - Spock drew his weapon and headed for the turbolift. Dripping dagger still in hand, McCoy met him there and they entered in unison before turning to face Kirk.

Seeing that made a feeling of eerie calm wash over Kirk and he gave them a curt nod just before the doors slid shut. Facing the screen again, Kirk's voice was back down to normal levels.

"Uhura - keep monitoring all frequencies. Sulu - Chekov - standby.

Then Kirk calmly made a log entry and could literally feel his crew taking a steadying breath around him even as the tiny ships drew nearer. They weren't dead yet. There was no such thing as a no-win situation - they had to believe that.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.386

We finally made it through to an open region and the planet at the central area of it. Spock identified the planet as a Class M, capable of sustaining life. Kalara called it Altamid.

As we drew closer, our sensors began to pick up some unusual readings. On magnification of our screens, we saw not one, but hundreds of ships. The damned woman led us into an ambush.

Kalara was keeping her eyes fixed on me as I was cursing so I wonder if she even noticed that it was Bones who killed her?

* * *

Turning off the log, Kirk sat back down and remained focused on the screen. There was a fine sheen of sweat on both of his helmsmen as Sulu turned slightly.

"The lead ships are almost within range, Captain."

Kirk gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before leaning forward ever so slightly.

"Gentlemen? Start sending those bastards to whatever hell the bitch that led us here is in."


	31. Chapter 31

It was genuinely surreal.

Of all things, the attack brought two completely different things to mind. One was an old, old Terran movie where a huge ship the size of a small moon was destroyed by one tiny ship small enough to slip in past its defenses. The other was a nature piece they liked to show at the Academy of driver ants, columns sweeping over and overwhelming everything in their path.

It was quickly obvious that the ISS Enterprise - the most advanced starship currently in service in Imperial Starfleet - was designed to do battle with starships. not mosquitos. Like the ants, for every one they might destroy, ten or more took the place of the fallen one.

"Sulu - warp us the hell out of here!"

Despite Sulu moving rapidly to follow orders, nothing happened as damage reports began pouring in from all over the ship. Kirk hit the intercom.

"Mister Scott - why aren't we moving?"

The stuttering, heavy brogue told Kirk how bad things were before he made out the first word.

"I kinnae give you warp . . . th' bawbags - they've cut off both nacelles. They're gutting . . . "

A curse followed by an explosion and the connection cutting off told another story and not a good one. Kirk's eyes went dark and cold. He remembered his time with the Klingons and their saying - meQtaHbogh qachDaq Suv qoH neH. This was one of those cases. Only a fool continues to fight inside a burning house and James Tiberius Kirk was many things, but not a fool. Shifting his hand, he startled his command crew by activating the ship wide intercom.

"All members of Imperial Starfleet - this is your commanding officer. We have not lost. We have not been defeated - we will never be defeated so long as even one member of this crew is still alive. These are my orders to each and every one of you - live. Find whoever or whatever was behind this attack and kill them."

Taking a deep breath, he punched another button and an entirely different set of lights and alarms went off as he began speaking again

"Computer - this is Captain James T. Kirk. Implement Captain's Directive Code zero zero zero. Verify Juliet Tango Kilo Two Six Zero Bravo Mike."

"Verified. Sequence initiated."

The computer voice immediately began broadcasting over the ship.

"All hands - abandon ship. This is not a drill. All escape pods have been unlocked and primed. Repeat - all hands - abandon ship."

Only a slight tremor betrayed that Uhura didn't climb into an escape pod and eject from the ship on a regular basis. Sulu seemed stunned, going through the motions as they had been taught in drill, but in a state of disbelief.

As he strapped himself into his own pod, Chekov watched as first Uhura, then Sulu ejected. For his part, Chekov refrained from pushing the final button as he watched his Captain, who was, in turn, fixated on the viewscreen.

A shudder running through the ship seemed to break Kirk's stare and he reached over to eject the recording module from his command chair before making his way to the last escape pod. Then he surprised Chekov again. Instead of strapping in immediately, Kirk took a moment to make a recording before tucking the device away and grabbing the straps.

Whether he was making a fatal mistake or not, Chekov continued to hold off on ejecting as he watched Kirk's final preparations. He triggered his pod within seconds of Kirk.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.387

I almost wish Kalara was still alive so I could strangle her myself. These damn little ships remind me of something we were shown once in school on driver ants. There are so many of them coming so fast and so coordinated that we can't even slow them down. They've overwhelmed our shields and some have boarded our ship.

Scotty reports our nacelles are lost. We're close enough to Altamid that I've ordered the crew to abandon ship with a final order - find and kill whoever was behind this attack.

* * *

From inside the pod, Kirk watched the final moments of his Lady. Dozens of the smaller ships still studded the outer hull, so some of the invaders were still aboard. Good.

He had made his Lady the same promise that he had made to himself over McCoy - no hands but his own were ever allowed to end her. The computerized system in his pod was still connected to the main systems and he firmed pressed one last button as he spoke. He was surprised how steady his voice was and he hoped that, wherever he had ended up, Scott wasn't watching this.

"Final sequence commence. Authority Juliet Tango Kilo Whiskey Tango Foxtrot."

If he hadn't been strapped in, Chekov would have jumped as the ISS Enterprise suddenly erupted in a massive series of explosions that ripped apart what remained of the once proud vessel, leaving only large pieces left to continue the fall. He could still see the Captain's pod nearby, but the planet's surface was approaching rapidly. Closing his eyes, Chekov took a deep breath, counted his knives, and braced for impact.

* * *

Elsewhere, Scotty was still cursing as he scrambled further away from the ledge his torpedo had landed on. At least he was still topside, but there had been additional equipment and weapons that went over the edge with the torpedo. Well - nothing for that now. Even if anything had survived the fall, he had no way of retrieving it.

Pleased that he routinely kept his uniform dagger honed to razor sharpness, Scotty drew the blade and started walking. He needed food, shelter and a damn long drink of something stronger than water.

He hadn't walked too far before he found an abandoned pod and immediately headed to it in hopes of scavenging something useful. Unfortunately, the pod's landing had attracted other scavengers as well. Better armed scavengers that didn't understand Imperial Common and who weren't in the least impressed by an Imperial Starfleet officer's uniform. Still, Scotty considered that his odds at three against his one weren't too bad.

Just as he was shifting himself into battle position, a harsh female voice called out and drew the attention of the trio. That was all the opening that Scotty required and he stabbed the closest alien in what looked to be a vital area. From the copious amounts of fluids that began pouring out, he had guessed well. The dead cry of that alien drew the attention of the other two back and one of them did not live to regret not keeping his eye on the female. The one remaining looked between Scotty and the woman and chose to flee rather than confront either of them further.

While grateful for the distraction the woman had provided, Scotty didn't trust her any more than he had trusted the three other aliens and the woman seemed to be of like mind as they each studied the other. The woman's eyes narrowed suddenly and she pointed at Scotty's Imperial badge with her still dripping blade.

"That. Where did you find that? What does it mean?"

Startled that the woman spoke rough, but understandable, Imperial common, Scotty cautiously gestured to his badge with his free hand.

"I dinnae find it - it's part of my uniform. It shows I'm an officer in Imperial Starfleet. Chief Engineer."

Her weapon stayed in her hand, but she lowered it slightly.

"Engineer?"

"Yes. Engineer. I fix things."

She scowled at him.

"I know what is engineer. I learn from my House."

Scotty, of course, assumed that she meant a house like the family groups that the Klingons or Vulcans had - the House of Surek that Spock was from, for example. So, if she knew Imperial common, odds were that her family had an Imperial connection and he could find assistance there.

"Will you take me to your House?"

She considered him a minute longer, then nodded.

"I will. I am Jaylah."

"Montgomery Scott. Since we'll be traveling companions, you can call me Scotty."

"Very well then, Montgomery Scotty. We need to take what we can from this wreckage or nothing will be left before we return."

Considering how fast the other scavengers had cone, he didn't doubt that one bit. It only took a few minutes to strip what little useful material was left in the pod. Following Jaylah, Scotty wondered - not for the first time - if throwing his lot in with hers had been a good idea. Then he mentally shrugged. It wasn't as if he had a lot of better offers to consider. After all, if the lass had wanted him dead, she could have ambushed him while the other three had his attention.

Sighing, he continued to follow the fast moving woman. He was alive, armed and relatively uninjured. Things could be far worse.


	32. Chapter 32

At another location on the planet, McCoy was forcing his way out of one of the small ships that had attacked the Enterprise. It was all a jumble in his head how he and Spock had ended up on the craft and the blow he'd taken to his head wasn't doing anything positive to his thought processes. He and Spock has come across a number of dead crewmen. That wasn't unexpected, but what wasn't expected was the condition of the bodies. He hadn't had nearly enough time to examine one before he heard Spock yell and they were under fire.

After that, there was a lot a firing, dodging, running. There was something being relayed over the intercom system, but with all the other noises in the area, McCoy hadn't been able to make out any actual words. Then the ship had lurched and thrown them into one of the ship's escape pods, which had almost immediately activated, sending them away from the ship.

Within seconds, they had been struck by one of the attack ships. Whatever that pilot might have been expecting, two inside a pod wasn't it. In a matter of seconds, the pilot was expelled from the craft, leaving McCoy trying to pilot the unfamiliar vessel while Spock tried to see what he could determine from the ship's computer system. Unfortunately, despite their combined efforts, the craft was too damaged and they had crashed on the planet's surface.

Wiping blood from his eyes, McCoy suddenly remember Spock and looked back inside to see how the Vulcan was. Spock was alert, but not moving well so McCoy reached in to help him out of the wreckage. Once Spock was in the light, the problem became obvious. A piece of the ship had impaled Spock and McCoy quickly reviewed Vulcan anatomy is his head while cursing the face that he only had his basic medkit with him.

Seeing no reason to gloss over the truth, McCoy helped Spock lean back.

"You're showing the devil's luch again, Spock. Another two inches to the left and you'd be dead already. Not that you won't still die if I can't get this thing out of your iliac region. And even then, you might die if I can't get the bleeding stopped. Not a damn thing I can do for a transfusion even if I had blood units available. which I don't."

Spock swallowed thickly and gave a short nod.

"We can only deal with the problems one at a time, Doctor. I am not dead yet nor do I desire to be."

As McCoy took a moment to clean his hands, he continued talking.

"Why the hell did they attack us? Seems like a damn lot of trouble to go through to destroy one ship."

The responding voice was strained, but calm.

"Agreed, Doctor. From the actions I was able to observe, the invaders were searching for something. What that might have been? I have no hypothesis at the moment."

"That makes two of us. Hey, Spock? I never asked, but do you have a favorite color?"

Frowning, Spock opened his eyes just as McCoy yanked the metal free of his body. His scream echoed off the surrounding rocks. When he recovered his voice, he glared at McCoy - not that the doctor noticed. He was busy working on a way to cauterize the wound before Spock lost too much more blood.

"This isn't going to feel any better than pulling out the metal did."

Spock was still glaring and his voice was terse.

"Get it over with."

The second scream wasn't any quieter than the first and McCoy knew that any hostiles looking for them had to know where they were now.

"Come on, Spock. Lean on me. We've got to get the hell out of here. I didn't patch you up just to provide a target for our enemies."

* * *

Elsewhere, Scott was staring as he got his first look at Jaylah's house. Running his hand along one of the panels, he looked over to Jaylah.

"Your house - this is your ship?"

A wry smile formed on the woman's face as she reached out and tapped Scott's uniform badge and then walked over to rest that same hand against a plaque.

"No, not my ship. Montgomery Scotty. Yours."

Frowning, Scott moved over to where Jaylah was standing, then swore as he recognized the Imperial emblem.

"An NX series? They've nae made these for over half a century."

Jaylah gave a nearby panel a fond pat.

"I have been learning from my house and repairing it, but now, you will help me fix my house so we can leave this world forever."

"Leaving sounds good, lassie, but I've got to find the rest of my mates. Some of them are bound to have made it down as well."

Stiffening, Jaylah nodded. Her features twisted as she thought.

"Krall will have taken them. I could show you how to find them, but I will not if they will take my house and leave me behind."

Scott knew he had to choose his words carefully.

"I am nae a man to give his word lightly, lass, but I swear that I will nae leave without you. We can help each other - you help me find the others and we'll fix your house together and leave together."

There was a long silence, then she reached out and clasped his hand.

"Very well, Montgomery Scotty. Let us begin."

* * *

Elsewhere, Kirk and Chekov had exited their escape pods and were stripping them of anything that might be useful. Chekov had his tricorder in hand and was scanning. Pausing in his scavenging, Kirk nodded in approval.

"Anything, Mister Chekov?"

"Negative, Captain. The only humanoid readings I am able to locate are our own, but the tricorder's range is very limited."

Kirk nodded thoughtfully then gestured to the escape pod.

"Pull the batteries. If we find another pod, we can link the three batteries and boost the power to give us more range."

"Aye, sir."

For a moment, both men worked in silence, but remember the sight of the other escape pods being captured, Chekov finally cleared his throat and spoke.

"What if the enemy have all of the other pods, sir?"

The smile that formed on Kirk's face made a shudder run down Chekov's spine.

"Then we find them and demonstrate how unwise it was for them to take what's mine. Pack everything up - we need to put some distance between us and these pods. Our enemies are bound to be looking for us."

As Chekov scrambled to obey, Kirk pulled out his recorder and looking at the time display. It felt like it had been much longer than that. Fingering the unit for a minute, he took the time to make a brief entry.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.388

Our attackers managed to capture the majority of the crew before they reached the planet's surface. I have no current way of telling who may or may not have escaped beyond Mister Chekov, who landed a short distance from where I did.

Our first priority is to put some distance between ourselves and these pods before our enemies trace them. Second priority is to find what's left of our crew. After that, we find a way to strike back. They've cost me a ship and possibly an Empire. They will pay.

* * *

Tucking the unit back away, Kirk saw Chekov was ready to go and quietly waiting. Quirking a smile as he recalled that Chekov never went anywhere without a selection of blades, Kirk held out a hand.

"Loan me a couple of blades. I could use something more functional than our uniform daggers."

Chekov quickly offered Kirk four different blades to choose from and he picked two that were balanced for throwing. His dagger could handle up close fighting well enough.

"Let's move out."


	33. Chapter 33

On yet another part of Altamid, Uhura, Sulu and the rest of the surviving crew were being herded like cattle into a holding area. One of the Sickbay lab technicians, Ensign Syl, was trying to stick as close to the remaining command crew as she could. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Uhura would have found the crush that Syl had on Sulu to be vastly amusing.

Two things became apparent quickly. One, the alien in charge was named Krall - two, he was furious that he hadn't found whatever it was he had been looking for before the Enterprise had self-destructed, taking a large number of the invading search parties with it. The only pity, in Uhura's opinion, was that Krall himself wasn't onboard the Enterprise at that time.

Once they were locked in, Krall moved off screaming about the fact that the ship's captain hadn't been located yet. Once they were alone, Syl motioned to Uhura and Sulu, lowering her voice to speak with them.

"The ship pilots? I can't be one hundred percent sure, but I believe they're not alive."

Sulu frowned and glanced toward the door they'd come through.

"Androids?"

Syl gave a short nod.

"I saw one of them that had been - well, I suppose killed isn't the right word. Any way, I got a good look it it. And I've seen two others - they're identical."

"So androids most likely. That could explain those tight precision maneuvers they were doing."

Idly fiddling with a necklace Spock had given her, Uhura frowned.

"That might be useful information if we can get out of here. Do you think the Captain made it?"

Sulu smirked at that.

"If I had to bet on anything, it would be that Kirk is out there already planning to add this Krall guy's skin to his collection. I believe he'd come back from the dead to do that."

* * *

Speaking of Kirk, he and Chekov were making their way through the rocky landscape, aiming for where they had seen some of the remains of the Enterprise crash. Any intact battery would do for hooking up to the tricorder and that, hopefully, would give them an edge.

While Kirk was cautious by nature, there were too many variables to take into account and so he was a few seconds too late to prevent Chekov from stepping on a well-concealed trigger As the brown cloud rose rapidly and he found himself unable to move, Kirk indulged in a lengthy rant including every Klingon curse word in his vocabulary.

* * *

At Jaylah's 'house - now identified by Scott as the ISS Franklin - the pair were looking in satisfaction at the panels showing the power levels. To Scott's surprise and delight, the anti-matter cores were intact after the century of disuse and they had only needed to fo minor repairs the mix chamber and replenish the matter supplies. As Jaylah noted, there was no lack of rock and other debris to use for fuel.

Now that there was more power to work with, Scott had turned his attention to the transporter unit, glad that he had worked on antique units as a hobby. He was nearly ready for a test when an alarm went off and Jaylah grabbed his arm.

"Some thing has set off one of my traps. Come."

Weapon in hand, Scott followed her. If it was more of those scavengers, they would need to be killed or driven away. He wasn't going to take the chance of anyone else getting their hands on that spaceship. Jaylah had it well-hidden, but no sense in pressing their luck.

To his surprise, it was Kirk and Chekov in the trap and Kirk was, to say the least, not amused. As soon as Scott vouched for them, Jaylah triggered the release and the two men fell forward. Scott prevented the Captain from hitting the ground while Jaylah assisted Chekov.

Pulling himself out of Scott's hands and brushing off his uniform, Kirk eyed Jaylah before turning back to Scott. Taking the hint, Scott began speaking.

"Captain, this is Jaylah. Jaylah, this is Captain James T. Kirk and Lieutenant Pavel Chekov."

Finding himself amused that Jaylah obviously didn't trust him any more than he trusted her, Kirk nodded to the woman after the introductions.

"Hpw did you find each other?"

"That's a wee bit of a long story, Sir. Jaylah, can we take this up to your house?"

Pointedly looking at Kirk and Chekov's uniform badges, Jaylah gestured at them.

"They are different. They are not engineers?"

Scott shook his head.

"No, lass. The ones they wear show that they're part of the Command crew."

Jaylah moved to reset her trap before speaking again.

"Then you were the one in charge of your ship, James Tee?"

A small smile formed on Kirk's face. He was either going to like this one or end up snapping her neck.

"Yes."

Looking straight into his eyes, Jaylah's voice remained firm.

"My house does not leave this planet without me. Swear it."

Chekov looked lost, but it was Scott that Kirk looked to. Seeing his Chief Engineer give a slight nod, he decided to take the chance. Not like it would really cause him to lose sleep if he broke his word to her.

"I swear it. If your house leaves, you leave with it."

She held his gaze a moment longer, then nodded.

"Come then, James Tee. Montgomery Scotty and I need to return to fixing my house."

Kirk looked back to Scott, who simply shrugged.

"Easier to show you than to try to explain it, Sir."

Jaylah began to lead the way with Scott directly behind her. Chekov brought up the rear, one of his blades in hand.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.39

While looking for other members of our crew that might have escaped as well as searching for a place to hide from our enemies, Chekov and I set off a trap. Thankfully for us, one designed to ensnare instead of kill.

It proved to be even more fortunate as the alien woman whose trap it was had already found Scott. The woman, Jaylah, is as suspicious of us as we are of her, but is willing to work with us if it means getting off of this world. I feel the same about her.

* * *

McCoy was tiring quickly and he knew that Spock was in worse shape than he was. They needed a place to shelter and rest for a little while the opening ahead of them looked dark and ominous, it also looked sheltered so he headed toward it. Spock's innate curiosity picked that minute to rear its head and the Vulcan picked up their pace, seeming eager to get inside.

"Hey, slow down a bit, Spock. That's only a patch job I have on you. Don't put too much strain on it."

Spock shrugged aside the concern.

"The sooner we are inside, the sooner we can both rest, Doctor. This is not a natural structure."

"Maybe not, but it looks about older than dirt."

"That would be impossible. The structure cannot be older than the ground it sits on."

"It's a saying, hobgoblin. Never mind, come on. Hopefully there aren't any wild animals inside."

Despite his words about resting, as soon as Spock was inside, he began to explore the structure. McCoy hadn't even sat down himself when Spock called him over.

"Doctor! Come look!"

At Spock's tone, he headed immediately to the Vulcan's side.

"Those symbols. They look sorta familiar, Spock. But I don't recall where I've seen them before."

"Possibly because you only glanced at the Fibonan artifact whereas I took the time to look over it thoroughly."

"Wait - these are the same sort of symbols . . ."

McCoy went silent and Spock remained silent as well as he watched the doctor processing the information.

"They were looking for something. You mean they killed our people and destroyed our ship over a damn artifact that the Teenaxi wouldn't even use as a paperweight?"

Finally listening to his body and easing himself to the floor, Spock nodded.

"That is the conclusion I have reached as well."

Sighing, McCoy sat down at Spock's side.

"So somehow, they knew enough to know that we'd had it onboard at one point, but not enough to know that we left the damned thing on the Yorktown. So . . . somehow whoever these folks are managed to tap into Imperial transmissions and sent Kalara as bait to get our ship here to retrieve the artifact. Damn. Kevin was right. The thing really was a jinx."

Spock gave what sounded like a chuckle as he closed his eyes. The chuckle worried McCoy as he was sure it signaled that Spock had lost far too much blood.

"While I would normally argue that believing in a jinx is illogical, our current situation tends to bear out that theory, however preposterous."

McCoy did a quick check to make sure that Spock hadn't started bleeding again. Satisfied that things were as good as they were going to get for the moment, he sighed.

"Try and go into a healing trance if you can. We can't stay here long."


	34. Chapter 34

In the holding pens, Sulu and Uhura had Keenser make use of his corrosive mucus to burn through the lock of their cell. A group of five of them - Sulu had chosen the four to go with him, bringing a mix of talents. Uhura - language skills, Syl - observation, Ranthon - an engineer, and Aiers - a xenoanthropologist. Sulu would have taken Keenser instead of Ranthon, but a caustic sneeze at the wrong time would not be good.

As they carefully searched while evading detection, Uhura studied the occasional guard that passed by. By the third man, she saw what Syl was talking about. Not just the same uniforms, but each appeared to be the same height and size. She was about to relay that to Sulu when a soft hiss from Ranthon got them all to look at what he had found.

It was a side room filled with a mix of equipment - some very familiar, some antique and some completely alien. In the center of it all was something Sulu recognized from their Academy history.

"That's a Magellan probe. The Empire sent out a series of these in the first attempts to map the nebula, but they were lost . . ."

Sulu's words trailed off as he motioned Ranthon to come closer and verify what he thought he was seeing. The other three drew nearer as the two men spoke softly and rapidly. After he was satisfied with their conclusions, Sulu turned toward the others.

"They've hooked into the sublink frequencies that the probes used and are using it to listen in. They've been picking up transmissions from the Yorktown as well as transmissions from the Enterprise."

Uhura's eyes widened at the implications, but then she frowned.

"Wait. I thought the nebula cut off communications."

Sulu made a so-so gesture with his hand.

"Think of the nebula as one of those one-way mirrors."

Syl put it together.

"Signals come in, but signals can't make it back out."

"Exactly."

A cut-off scream had them all spinning around in time to see Aiers struggling briefly in Krall's grasp before he dropped her corpse to the ground. Krall's dark eyes fixed on Sulu.

"Ah, so here you are. You will tell me where your Captain is. You will tell me where the Abronath is."

Sulu and Uhura exchanged a quick glance that showed they were both thinking the exact same thing - what the hell was the Abronath?

* * *

There were very few things that could render Kirk speechless. His first good look at Jaylah's home did it. Slowly moving through the interior, he walked toward the plaque.

"The ISS Franklin. She disappeared over a hundred years ago. Her last reported location was the Gagarin Radiation Belt. How the hell did she end up here?"

Scotty shrugged.

"A fair question, Captain - and one I've nae got an answer for. I remember hearing any number of wild rumors, but I suspect anyone that would actually know is long dead now, sir."

Jaylah flopped down into the Captain's chair as watched as Kirk took everything in. Kirk turned toward Scott.

"She has power. Can she fly?"

"Maybe?"

Sighing, Scott gestured around.

"Jaylah's done what would have been impossible for even most of those that've had proper training. However it got here, from the looks of things, this ship's been grounded for well over half a ruddy century. We'll need to check her driving cores, her . . ."

Kirk cut him off.

"Can. She, Fly?"

Jaylah stood up from the chair and answered him.

"We will make my house fly."

Seeing the look of determination on her face, Kirk gave a satisfied nod. Snapping her neck was off his agenda.

"In that case - Mister Chekov. It looks like the onboard sensors are intact. Let's find our crew."

"Aye aye, Captain."

"Mister Scott."

"Aye, sir?"

"Once we find them, can we bring them here?"

"The lass and I were working on the transporter circuits when you set off her alarms, sir. We'll get right back on it. From the looks of it, she'll be ready to test within a half hour or so."

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.391

Interesting home that Jaylah has - the wreckage of an Imperial ship that went missing about a hundred years ago. If I let Scott have his way, I'll be adding Jaylah to my crew. She does seem to have talents as an Engineer. Between her and Scott, they already have basic sensors working and say they should have the transporter ready to try out shortly.

I have Chekov working on locating our people. The old technology doesn't have the range of the systems we're used to, but we'll have to deal.

* * *

When McCoy started awake from the short nap he'd taken, he pulled out his communicator. If any of the rest of the crew still had theirs, he might be able to contact them.

"McCoy to . . . anyone. Come in."

Next to him, Spock spoke, his voce soft, but steady.

"There is a chance that this structure is impeding communication, Doctor. You may have better results outside."

Sighing, McCoy nodded and got to his feet before offering Spock a hand up.

"Well, come on then, Spock."

Leaving the hand untaken, Spock shook his head.

"It is imperative that you locate the Captain and any surviving crew."

"Really? Well, in case it slipped your notice, you're one of the surviving crew. Either you come with me or I stay here. Take your choice."

Spock made what sounded like a growl deep in his throat.

"You are a most stubborn and unyielding man, Doctor."

McCoy flashed a smile at that.

"Why thank you, Spock. Jim says those are some of my more endearing qualities."

As it became obvious that McCoy wasn't going to leave without him, Spock finally accepted the assistance and got to his feet.

"You would move much faster without me."

"True enough, but who would I complain to if I don't keep you with me?"

Not knowing how to respond to that, Spock decided not to comment and instead focused on walking. Once they were back outside, McCoy began to transmit again.

"McCoy and Spock to Enterprise crew. Come in."


	35. Chapter 35

McCoy tried another call, but his communicator made a noise he'd never heard one make before. Spock glanced at it and shook his head.

"It must have sustained damage in the crash, Doctor."

With a heartfelt curse, McCoy tossed it to the side.

"No use carrying the damn weight. Guess the direction we're going is as good a one as any to keep heading . . ."

He stopped talking as Spock held up a hand. He was obviously listening to something, so McCoy went quiet and listened as well. It took him a little longer, but he heard it. The sound of some sort of machinery coming closer.

"Time to take cover."

"It is too late for that, Leonard."

The use of his first name drew McCoy's attention and he saw what Spock meant. A trio of the enemy ships had found them.

"Well, hell."

* * *

Aboard the Franklin, Chekov called out to be heard over the music Jaylah had playing over the ship's intercom system.

"Captain! I picked up a signal. It was only there for a moment and very weak, but it was standard Imperial frequency."

Kirk headed over to the panel.

"Do you know the area it came from?"

"I could not pin it down, sir, but I am using the scanners to . . . there! Two life readings. One is a Vulcanoid."

Kirk turned around and shouted. Seeing that something was happening, Jaylah silenced the music.

"Scott - Chekov has two readings. Can you get them here?"

There was a pregnant pause before Scotty answered.

"I've got the transporter working, but it's nae been tested. I dinnae dare try to beam them both at once. The results could get . . . a bit messy until I get all the settings calibrated."

"One at a time then. Chekov - give him the coordinates for the Vulcanoid."

* * *

As the trio of ships drew nearer, the two men moved back to back - a sign of the change in the amount of trust they now had in one another. Spock would have preferred to die with a weapon in his hand, but fate rarely took individual preferences into consideration.

"Leonard - our time together has been both intellectually stimulating and profitable, but it seems we have reached the end of that journey."

McCoy barked a laugh.

"It's been a real pleasure killing by your side, Spock. If you see Jim before I do, tell him I'm mad that he broke his promise to me. Well, at least we won't have to die alone."

Spock was about to question what promise the doctor was talking about, but he suddenly felt a sensation like a transporter beaming and was gone before he could speak.

Hearing an odd sound behind him, McCoy turned his head and was shocked to find that Spock was gone.

"Isn't that just damn usual?"

Snatching up a rock, he threw it at the nearest ship in defiance. While he was pleased to see that it hit, McCoy wasn't particularly shocked to be hit with a beam from the ship a moment later. He was unconscious and falling when a second transporter beam took him away.

* * *

If the unexpected teleportation took Spock off-guard, finding himself in front of the Captain completed his disorientation. It took him longer than usual to clear his head, but once he did, Spock didn't hesitate.

"Doctor McCoy was with me and we were about to be attacked."

Chekov was glad he had already sent the second set of coordinates to Scotty. For his part, Scotty didn't wait for Kirk's orders, he just activated the equipment as he called out.

"On it, sir!"

McCoy's body materialized a few inches above the floor, then finished falling as Kirk cursed and moved to check the doctor's condition. Scotty turned to Jaylah.

"Lass, was any medical gear still intact?"

Jaylah nodded and took off at a run.

"I know where is some things. I will bring."

Kirk looked back to Spock to question him, but stopped when he say the Vulcan's hand pressed to his side and the sight of green blood on his fingers. Growling, Kirk left McCoy's side long enough to assist Spock over to a place where he could lie down.

"How bad are you injured?"

Closing his eyes briefly until he had controlled the pain again, Spock shifted his hand to allow Kirk to see the damage to his uniform tunic.

"Doctor McCoy was able to remove the metal that had imbedded itself in me and did what he termed a patch job. I believe his patch has come loose."

Frustrated, Kirk looked back toward McCoy.

"He looks like he was stunned, but that doesn't account for the blood on his head."

That, at least, Spock could explain.

"The Doctor sustained his head injury when we crashed landed on this planet."

Satisfied then that McCoy was only stunned, Kirk turned his attention back to checking on Spock's injuries.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.392

One nice thing about Vulcan body readings - Chekov was able to locate Spock. There was one humanoid showing beside Spock but Scott was leery about trying to beam two people at once until he has more time to tinker with the transporter.

Spock was strangely disoriented after the beaming, but quickly recovered to inform us that he and Bones were about to be attacked when he was teleported away. Scott immediately activated the transporter again and retrieved Bones. Bones is unconscious and wounded, but alive. Jaylah is bringing some medical gear she's scavenged.

* * *

One of Krall's people who they were certain was not an android, Manas, came over to speak with Krall. Uhura didn't recognize the language, but whatever Manas said left Krall furious. He stalked over and, without saying a word, killed Ranthon before reaching for Sulu. In Sulu's case, he held him by the throat, but only drew him nearer. That wasn't an advantage so far as Sulu was concerned. Not only was Krall's breath foul, he spit when he emphasized his words.

"My ships had found two of your people but they both disappeared. How - did - they - do - that?"

Sulu, quite naturally, had no idea and Krall's hand started to cut off his air. That hadn't been the answer he'd been looking for.

"You will tell me what I want to know or I will kill each and every one of you."

Syl, in an act of bravery, stupidity, or sheer terror, rushed up and grabbed onto Krall's arm, practically crying.

"We've been here - we have no way of knowing how they escaped. And we have no idea what an Abronath is."

Eyes narrowing, Krall flung Sulu to the side, the impact driving out what little air he had left in him. Towering over Syl, Krall pulled out a ring shaped metallic piece from a pouch at his side. As she had been among the technicians in the lab when the Fibonan artifact was being examined, she recognized the coloration and the symbols. It was her bad luck that Krall saw her expression and knew it to be recognition.

He grabbed Syl roughly and pressed her against the wall.

"You have seen the other part of the Abronath. Where was it kept on your ship? Who has it? Tell me or I will kill the man!"

Panicking, Syl tried in vain to break away, crying out.

"It wasn't on our ship!"

"You lie! I heard the transmissions myself!"

As Krall's grip on her tightened, Syl blurted out the truth.

"Yes, it had been, but we left it on the Yorktown!"

For a moment, Krall stopped moving completely as he studied Syl and determined that she was far too terrified of him for her to lie to him.

"Very well. I will no kill the man."

Syl had only a second to look relieved before Krall tightened his grip on her and she began to feel pain as her life force began to flow into Krall. She could hear uhura yelling something, but the words no longer made any sense as the last of her consciousness faded along with her life. Krall studied her corpse for another moment, then tossed her aside like so much garbage.

Paying no further attention to either Uhura or Sulu, Krall strode from the area.

"Come, Manas! We must prepare to take the Abronath from the Yorktown. And then? And then, the real cleansing will begin."


	36. Chapter 36

Uhura and Sulu didn't move until Krall and Manas were out of hearing range. Glancing briefly at Ranthon and Syl's bodies, Uhura frowned.

"So, that artifact is part of something called an Abronath. Whatever that is, it has to be pretty important to go through the amount of effort Krall is going through to get his hands on it."

Leaning back against a panel, Sulu closed his eyes as he thought back to their briefings.

"The Fibonans told the Captain that the artifact was a piece of an ancient weapon. I assumed it was broken, but what if it was disassembled?"

The reasoning that was likely behind something like that made Uhura take a deep breath.

"That sounds suspiciously like what was done to some of the planet-killers created before the Eugenics War. There was no safe way to simply destroy them, so they were dismantled and the pieces stored in different areas."

"So if Krall retrieves the other piece from the Yorktown, there's no telling how hard it would be to stop him after that."

Sulu looked into Uhura's eyes.

"I'm willing to back Kirk taking the throne, but from what I've seen, any Empire of Krall's making isn't one that I want to live in."

"Agreed. Which means we have to find a way to stop him."

"Which means we need to find the Captain."

In rare full accord, Uhura and Sulu headed stealthily back to where the rest of the crew was being held. Time to start fighting back and for that, they needed numbers.

* * *

By the time Jaylah returned with an armful of medical equipment, McCoy was coming around. Achy and with a headache that - as he phrased it - would stun a horse, but otherwise none the worse for wear. Fumbling with his own medkit, McCoy pulled out a hypo and injected himself, sighing with relief a minute later before forcing himself to his feet to check on Spock.

"Dammit, we need to fix this fast. These instruments are antiques, but if they still function, I should be able to at least make a stronger patch. Jim - come over here and distract Spock while I work."

Spock actually chuckled slightly as he spoke.

"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease."

Snorting, McCoy double checked the equipment settings while shaking his head.

"Here I am trying to keep him from dying and he's quoting Voltaire."

Kirk was bemused by the exchange, but began talking over attack plans while McCoy ignored them both as he worked on Spock's injuries. Chekov went back to working on the sensors while Jaylah and Scotty continued with the next stage of repairs.

Curiosity finally drew Kirk's attention back to McCoy.

"So, what happened after we beamed Spock out?"

"You mean besides me getting pissed? Well, I threw a rock at the nearest ship and they took offense when it hit. After that? Can't say as I remember anything until I woke up to your sunny disposition."

"Huh. Wonder why they left you alive?"

"Since they were capturing other folks from our crew for some reason, I'm guessing they wanted me alive. Their mistake."

Grumbling under his breath, McCoy's next words could barely be heard.

"Bastards better not have hurt my people or Gem."

Finishing his work on Spock, the doctor gave a nod of satisfaction.

"Now, if you don't do anything crazy, that should hold until you heal fully."

This was McCoy's first chance to really look at his surroundings and as he looked back down at the medical instrument he'd used, he frowned.

"Is this an old Imperial ship?"

Scotty answered that from where he was making an adjustment.

"That she is, Doc. Though how she ended up here a hundred years or so ago is anyone's guess."

Finding a medical wipe and using it to remove some of the dried blood from his head, McCoy shrugged.

"Don't suppose it really matters. What matters is whether of not she's viable. So, who's your friend?"

Hearing the question, Jaylah spoke up for herself.

"I am Jaylah and this is my house. And you are Doctor Bones."

That got a bark of laughter from Kirk as McCoy shot him a dirty look which, as usual, didn't result in any lessening of Kirk's amusement. Giving up, he looked back to Jaylah.

"Close enough, I suppose. So, how did you come to be here?"

The woman scowled, but it was obviously not directed at McCoy.

"My family and I fell from the sky when we were attacked by Krall and his swarm. As you and your people were. Krall seeks a death machine and then he will leave this place and leave many families as dead as mine."

Jaylah now had Kirk's full attention.

"Death machine?"

She nodded.

"He calls it an Abronath. He has a piece of it, but it is useless without the heart of it. That is what he seeks."

McCoy growled as he spoke.

"That damn Fibonan artifact. It must be the heart."

Kirk narrowed his eyes.

"You know about this Abronath thing?"

"Never heard that name before now, Jim, but Spock and I hid in a place to catch our breath and the inside was covered with symbols that Spock said were the same kind as were on that stupid artifact. And those guys invading our ship were sure searching for something, so it makes sense, doesn't it?"

Spock didn't get up from where he was resting, but he spoke up.

"It does indeed, Leonard. And should Krall discover that it is aboard the Yorktown? He has already shown the lengths he is willing to go to in order to obtain it."

Scotty paused in his work.

"Those ships of theirs. Do you think they've the range to get there?"

McCoy's response to that was flat.

"He got Kalara to the Yorktown, didn't he?"

Sighing, Scotty nodded.

"Aye, that he did."

Kirk turned toward Chekov.

"We have a limited window. If Krall gets tired of searching our wreckage, he knows where we were last. We need to find a way to stop him before he gets to the Yorktown and puts his death machine together."

Spock slowly shifted his position.

"Do you believe this Abronath would be that dangerous, Captain?"

"We know Krall must believe that it is and I, for one, don't want to test the theory. Besides, he already needs to die for what he did to our ship."

There was no more discussion as Spock slowly rose to his feet to see what assistance he could give to Chekov's efforts.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.394

Bones has regained consciousness. The injuries he and Spock have were from their crashing on this planet. As far as Bones being unconscious? When they realized that Spock was teleporting, they attacked Bones. Fortunately, they seemed to have been intending to take him away as they stunned him instead of killing him. As Bones said himself, their mistake. He's mad and I personally can't think of a worse member of my crew to have mad at you. If they've damaged any of his ladies? I won't stand in his way.


	37. Chapter 37

Chekov hit the sides of the panel he was at in frustration. As Kirk turned toward him, the young lieutenant was frustrated enough not to quail underneath Kirk's critical gaze.

"There are too many readings and too many life forms. I cannot tell which ones might be our crew and which might be others like Miss Jaylah."

Before Kirk could respond, Spock moved next to Chekov, speaking thoughtfully.

"What if we were to add in another variable to narrow down the search?"

Chekov nodded enthusiastically.

"That would help immensely, sir, but what variable could we add?"

"Add to the parameters to search for Vokaya. It is a rare, radioactive mineral from Vulcan. It should be distinctive enough and it is highly doubtful that more than one piece of it would be on this planet."

The others exchanged looks, but McCoy was the one that voiced the question.

"How do you know that Vokaya will be with our crew?"

Spock didn't meet any of their eyes as he entered the parameters for a Vokaya search into the equipment.

"I was in possession of a necklace that Sarek had given my mother. I, in turn, gifted it to Nyota."

McCoy stared at him.

"You gave her a radioactive necklace?"

Spock finally looked up, an exasperated expression on his face.

"The amount of radiation produced is lower than that she is routinely exposed to at her work station, but the radioactive signature is quite distinctive and should be able to be tracked by the sensors."

Pausing for a second, McCoy continued.

"You know, that necklace sounds a lot like a special collar my grandfather had made for his favorite hunting dog."

Kirk was about to yell at McCoy when he noticed that Spock didn't get upset at the doctor's comment. Quite to the contrary, the Vulcan was nodding.

"While I had never thought to frame the item in that manner, that does make a great deal of sense. I did observe how other Vulcan men treated their consorts. Sarek treated my mother far more like an exotic pet."

McCoy actually did look abashed and started to apologize, but Spock held up a hand.

"You merely made an observation - and one that I happen to agree with. Of course, had I made that connection sooner, I would not have gifted it to Nyota. She would be unlikely to take this news well."

Moving closer, McCoy gave Spock a light nudge, careful to avoid any skin contact.

"We can explain that to her, Spock. Getting her the hell out of wherever they have her and the others will go a long way with that."

Anything else McCoy might have said was interrupted by a triumphant whoop from Chekov. Kirk managed to stifle a chuckle, but it was amusing when Chekov forgot himself and acted his age.

"It worked! I have found them!"

Scotty noticed that Jaylah was now practically hiding behind the equipment they were working on. It was time to find out what was going on.

"You know something, lass? Now would be the time to share."

Shaking her head violently, Jaylah kept her voice soft to avoid drawing attention.

"I know the area where your people are most likely being held. It is a place of death. I will not return there."

Scotty decided this was not the time to tred softly.

"Your word means so little to you?"

As he expected, that caused her anger to flare.

"My word means everything!"

"Then remember what we promised, lassie - I help you fix your house - you help me get my mates back. Sounds like you're trying to back out on your end."

There was genuine fear in her eyes at the thought of going into Krall's area, but Scotty didn't relent and she finally lowered her head and nodded.

"You are right, Montgomery Scotty. You have been keeping to your word. I will keep to mine even if it gets us all killed."

Scotty put his hand on her shoulder until she looked back up at him.

"Don't be painting such a negative picture, lass. You don't know the Captain like I know the Captain. I would nae bet against him in a fight with this Krall character. Come on - let's go talk to the Captain.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.395

We were trying to figure out how to pinpoint which group of people on this planet were our crew when Spock told us about a distinctive necklace he had given Uhura. Bones, ever the diplomat, said it sounded like a tracker his grandfather had on one of his hunting dogs.

Spock didn't get angry - merely nodded and said the necklace had been his mother's. While he hadn't thought of it as a pet collar, Spock stated that it made sense as Sarek had treated Amanda more like exotic pet than consort.

* * *

Uhura seriously wanted to punch someone. When they returned to add numbers to their plans, they found their fellow captives were far too obsessed with protecting their own necks than with helping out.

It was that moment when some of the things that McCoy had said in the past really resonated with both of them. While they didn't always like or agree with one another, Sulu and Uhura knew that they had each other's backs against any enemy. They couldn't trust anyone else in the pens with them except for possibly Keenser - who was still sneezing out corrosive mucus.

Sulu scowled as he thought, his knife out and his thumb running lightly along the edge. Finally, he looked back to Uhura.

"We need to find which pen is holding McCoy's team. The nurses will back us, I'm sure of it."

Feeling a touch less homicidal at that thought, Uhura nodded.

"I think you're right. Besides, one of the pens is bound to have Shomari and Hediye inside. I doubt Krall and his minions could do much to them."

Sulu brightened at that, not thinking about finding the androids and using them to help.

"That's right - Cho and Tama are bound to be here as well. Unless Krall noticed something odd about them and did something."

"We'll worry about that if we can't find them. This time, we take Keenser. He can open the other pens for us like he did this one."

Keenser was agreeable and the three set out carefully to find the next pen. If each pen held about an equal number of crew, there should be ten or more other pen areas to find. After a brief consultation, they decided to break into every pen whether it held anyone they were interested in or not. It would save time when someone came along whose orders they would obey.


	38. Chapter 38

Uhura had a grim smile on her face as she glanced back at Gem, who had attached herself to Uhura once the pen she had been held in had been opened by more of Keenser's corrosive secretions. She didn't really worry about having Gem at her back except for the concern that McCoy would hold her responsible if anything happened to the empath.

Leading the way to the next group, Sulu felt their odds had improved considerably. While it was true that most of the crew remained in their pens because they feared Krall more than Sulu and Uhura, all of McCoy's nurses had joined them, including McCoy's personal androids, Glory and Iris. When the next pen contained both his and Uhura's androids, a smile began to form. While there was a good chance that neither Spock or Kirk's androids would join them, he thought the odds were good that Scotty and Chekov's would. If they did, the ten androids together would make a decent strike force.

Uhura moved close enough to Sulu to speak to him without her voice carrying far.

"What is the plan?"

He gave her a sly smile.

"We locate the other androids, then we find the Captain. After that, we start getting payback."

Uhura looked around, frowning.

"We need to look for where they put our weapons. I dislike not being armed in an enemy's camp."

"You're right - first, we find the androids, then we arm ourselves even if it has to be with their weapons."

Agreeing with the revision of plans, Uhura concentrated on looking for any place that might conceivably hide an armory as they continued through the holding area.

* * *

Kirk, McCoy, and Spock turned almost as one as Scotty approached with Jaylah and he found himself relieved to remember that he was on their side. He did automatically take hold of Jaylah's arm to prevent her from bolting.

"Captain, Jaylah here has been in the area where Chekov says are people are being held."

"It is a place of death! You cannot go there - going there will lead to your deaths!"

Jaylah lowered her head and looked at the ground after her outburst. She flinched slightly when she felt someone touch her chin, but the touch was gentle. Raising her eyes, she found herself looking into McCoy's eyes and the gleam in them was almost mesmerizing.

"You don't know us well enough yet, Jaylah, but you're right about one thing. Us going there is going to lead to deaths, but they won't be ours. Krall's people won't be the first group we've wiped out of existence and they won't be the last. Now, we're going in there for two reasons - to retrieve what is rightfully ours and to take revenge for the loss of our ship. Our house. Krall killed your family, didn't he?"

Jaylah nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off of his.

"Then work with us. Take your own revenge alongside us. Then we'll all leave this forsaken rock together."

Kirk watched, but didn't make a sound as he watched McCoy in action. He had a way with the young and despite her considerable skills in both fighting and engineering, Jaylah was still, in many ways, a lost child.

For her part, Jaylah might have been young, but she was far from naïve. Still, she picked up nothing from McCoy but sincerity. The man believed they would win and she found herself believing in his belief in turn. Drawing a deep breath, she nodded.

"Your fight is my fight. I will show you how to get in around the guards and how the area is set up. But there is one there, Doctor Bones. One of Krall's men named Manas. My father fought him to allow my escape. Manas killed him."

"Then we will make sure he dies as slowly and as painfully as you like, my dear."

At those words, Kirk took over.

"Alright people - war conference. I want us to keep this simple. We need to find a way to go in that will take them off-guard. After that? Anyone we don't recognize, we kill. Scotty, we'll need trackers rigged up. You and Chekov will be staying here to keep the equipment running and teleport our people back here in groups. How many could this thing bring across at a time once you've finished your adjustments?"

"Twenty at most, sir. More than that and we'd be risking some messy intermixing between bodies."

"So, we'll require one tracker each for us plus one tracker for every set of twenty with some way to signal you when to teleport."

Scotty did some mental calculations and nodded.

"Basic stuff, sir and I've got what I need. I just have to have the time to put them together."

"Get started while Jaylah starts teaching us about the layout and the way in."

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.396

Thanks to the pet collar, we have a rough fix on our missing crew. Jaylah will be accompanying us as she knows the area's layout, but we're going in with a simple plan - if we don't recognize them, we kill them. Repeat as often as necessary to free our crew. I've always found basic plans like that have the least chance of fouling up.

Scott and Chekov will remain behind to teleport our people out as we find them. Once that's done, we find a way off this rock.


	39. Chapter 39

As Jaylah began telling them about the layout of the main structures on the planet, Kirk was impressed by her memory and attention to detail. One thing he wasn't positive on was if the real enemy was Krall or Manas. On giving it a bit more thought, he decided it didn't matter since he planned to kill them both anyway.

When they began to consider ways to take the enemy by surprise, Jaylah Impressed all of them by showing them a motorcycle she had found on the Franklin and had already repaired. Kirk ran his hand along the framework.

"I've ridden ones like this. It could make a helluva distraction."

McCoy frowned and shook his head.

"More likely to make a helluva target."

With a sly smile, Jaylah moved next to McCoy.

"I can make it less of a target, Doctor Bones. Come. I will show you."

After a demonstration of a holographic device she used to add her in defending her territory from other scavengers, McCoy conceded that using the motorcycle might not be completely suicidal and it was worked into their plans.

By the time Scotty had enough signal markers made, their plans were set. As Kirk had intended, the plans were vague and fluid so that they could easily adapt to their surroundings. The basic part of the plan remained unchanged - kill everyone they didn't recognize.

Jaylah stepped outside and when she began cursing, it drew everyone out to her side. Like dark smoke, the tiny attack ships were rising into the air again. Snarling, Kirk turned toward Scott.

"Is this ship ready to fly?"

"She's as ready to fly as she ever will be, sir."

Kirk noted the hesitation and the odd wording, but decided that would be dealt with later.

"Let's move, people. Every ship in the air is one less body we have to deal with while retrieving our people."

Scotty was using a combination of the layout provided by Jaylah and the signature from the Vokaya to pick the area he would teleport Spock, McCoy, and Jaylah to. Jaylah would verify the area was clear enough and then signal to Scotty, at which time Kirk and the motorcycle would be teleported. Then, as Kirk phrased it, "the fun will begin".

The initial beam in went well. Before moving off, Jaylah pointed.

"If they have not changed their ways, your people will be in that area."

McCoy started to move off, but hesitated as Spock held back, looking at his tricorder. Looking up at the doctor, Spock shook his head.

"You begin finding the rest of the crew. I will located Lieutenant Uhura."

McCoy hesitated.

"Spock, you're still healing are you sure you're up to heading out on your own?"

Spock seemed offended by the question.

"I am certain."

While McCoy didn't particularly like splinting up, he decided there wasn't time to argue further and he headed off without another word. Jaylah moved in the opposite direction, double checked her surroundings, and activated her signal.

Even knowing the plan, all three hesitated as the bike appeared already roaring as Kirk took off toward what seemed to be the central area. He had wanted to start by launching some explosives, but McCoy argued against that as they only had a vague idea of exactly where their crew was. It was Scotty whispering to Kirk wouldn't want to face the consequences of accidently injuring one of McCoy's ladies in an explosion that really changed Kirk's mind. Still, Jaylah had rigged a dispenser for her solidifying mists to the bike and Kirk planned to use that to good effect.

Ignoring the reactions to Kirk's rather dramatic appearance, Spock steadily followed the indicator on his tricorder to the location of the Vokaya. He was concentrating a little too hard on his tricorder and didn't see the his attacker until the first blow landed. Unfortunately for Spock, that blow landed far too near the site of his injury and put him at an immediate disadvantage.

The Fates proved not to be completely against the Vulcan as Uhura and Sulu were close enough to hear the sounds of the fighting. Once they were close enough to see Spock, Uhura moved in immediately to join to fight while Sulu held back to watch in case more of the enemy forces came to investigate the noises. It wasn't long before the android was incapacitated and Uhura, seeing that Spock was keeping one hand pressed to his side, offered him a hand up - which was accepted. She didn't waste any time with formalities.

"What's the plan?"

Spock also didn't waste time.

"The Captain is running a distraction with the assistance of an alien woman who was stranded here. Doctor McCoy is making use of the distraction to locate our crew and free them. We have the means to teleport our people away, but only in sets of twenty."

Sulu motioned with his arm and Spock noted the small group that was waiting a few paces back as Sulu spoke..

"This way then. We've been using Keenser to open the holding areas but, for the most part, the crew has refused to budge. We need someone to give the orders."

Giving a curt nod, Spock headed toward Sulu.

"Very well. Lead the way. I doubt there will be any foolish enough to disobey the Doctor, so between us, we will get them moving."

* * *

McCoy had come up behind one of the enemy guards that was attempting to shoot at Kirk. Raising his phaser, he shot the guard in the head. It only took one look to confirm that they weren't dealing with an actual living being, but fortunately, these androids were nowhere near as well built as the ones they had among their crew. He took a moment to make use of his communicator.

"McCoy to Spock."

"Spock here, Doctor."

"These things are bargain basement androids. Go for a head shot to take them out quickly."

"Very useful information. I am with Lieutenants Sulu and Uhura as well as your nurses."

"Acknowledged. Let's kick some ass."

There was a slight pause before McCoy heard Uhura's voice in the background.

"It's a saying, Spock. You still want to shoot them in the head."

Chuckling, McCoy signed off, using some of the now-solidified gasses to mask his movements as he continued toward the holding area. Ducking into a side area, he bumped into a body on the floor that was in a science Imperial Starfleet uniform. One thing McCoy prided himself on was his memory for the crew and he knew this one was Faiva Aiers. Not far away from her corpse was another - one of Scotty's - Paul Ranthon. It was the last body that got his blood boiling though - one of his young lab technicians' body was crumpled on the floor. Ensign Syl. He knelt beside her briefly, then looked around the area.

It hadn't been apparent while he was standing, but from his current angle, McCoy noticed what seemed to be the edge of a door. Moving over to it, he stood to the side and fired his phaser at it, damaging the door enough for him to force it open. Inside, he found where at least part of the crew's equipment had been stashed.

Smiling grimly, McCoy picked out the more powerful weapons from those available before alerting Spock to where the weapons could be located. Uhura and Sulu knew exactly where the location was.

After ending communications again, McCoy started on his way - anyone or anything not in an Imperial Starfleet uniform was shot in the head. As Spock had predicted, not a single person inside the holding areas was foolish enough to disobey the doctor's orders to move.

Kirk made a shield out of the solidifying mists to create a teleport spot, pausing as he saw Spock, Uhura and Sulu leading out one group as McCoy led out another. Seeing the number of bodies in McCoy's wake, he knew the opposition had done something unwise to one of McCoy's people. He only hoped it wasn't Gem.

Once Uhura and Sulu were close enough, Kirk conferred with them and it was confirmed that Krall was the name of their primary foe. Manas seemed to function as his second-in-command. From things they had overheard, they were of the belief that Krall was with the ships heading for the Yorktown while Manas had been left behind to keep the base functioning.

Then Sulu began telling Kirk and Spock about the Abronath and that the so-called Fibonan artifact was, if fact, the heart of a weapon that was powerful enough to begin what Krall had referred to as 'a cleansing'. And it sounded like that cleansing was going to begin on the Yorktown. Kirk knew he was going to have to apologize to Kevin and Reilly - they were certainly right about that damn Fibonan thing being bad news.

Kirk asking how Krall had discovered the artifact was on the Yorktown led to Ensign Syl and her subsequent death. While this information exchange was going on, McCoy hadn't been idle. He had already divided up and sent off the first three groups of twenty. Seeing that, Kirk gave a pleased nod before frowning. Jaylah - where had she gotten off to?

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.398

From Uhura and Sulu, we now have a name for our enemy - Krall. Krall made a big mistake. While he didn't harm any of the nurses, he killed a young lab technical named Syl who was part of Bones' medical research team. It was a glorious massacre.

Krall himself and about half of his swarm escaped and are reportedly heading to kill everyone on the Yorktown station, using a weapon formed from that stupid Fibonan artifact. Almost makes me wish the Fibonans weren't already dead so that I could kill them again.


	40. Chapter 40

Had Jaylah merely been their guide to Krall's headquarters, he might not have thought twice about not seeing her. However, he had witnessed first-hand how good she was with ship mechanics - and that without any formal training. It would have been an understatement to say that he was impressed. One thing he always wanted in his crew was the best - and she was firmly in that category.

Leaving the transporting of the remainder of the crew to McCoy, Spock, and Uhura, Kirk took off on the bike again, shooting any still moving targets or running over them as he continued searching. There weren't many targets left for him - McCoy had been armed, angry, and thorough. From near the edge of the encampment came a yell - more like a battle cry - that he heard over the noise of the bike and he headed toward it. Jaylah was in a furious fight with a male that he figured had to by Manas.

Kirk took a moment to judge the angle, then aimed the bike for the rooftop they were on. There was no way the bike would make the jump, but he didn't need it to. He readied his phaser, triggering his signal beacon just before firing at Manas. He saw the man fall, stunned, even as the transporter pulled him away.

Hitting the transporter platform hard enough to knock the air out of him, Kirk found himself receiving a bemused smile from McCoy as the doctor moved to help him up.

"Can't even do a transport the usual way, can you?"

Kirk was barely clear of the platform when Scotty received Jaylah's signal. She arrived standing tall, proud, and blood-covered. Kirk smiled at the sight. Yes, she was going to fit nicely in with his crew. She moved to Kirk and knelt before him, offering up her bloodied blade.

"Thank you, James Tee. My father is avenged."

Instead of taking the blade, Kirk laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Keep the blade. You're going to need it as part of my crew."

Jaylah looked surprised, but pleased - then glanced from him to Scotty.

"Will I have to wear the uniform?"

That got a laugh as Kirk brought his hand back.

"Yes, but I suspect you'll look good in Engineering red."

Turning his attention back to Scotty, Kirk made a vague gesture at the ship.

"Well, Mister Scott? Krall and his swarm have a head start. Let's get this thing in the air."

Scotty rubbed the back of his neck and Kirk knew before he said a word that he wasn't going to like what his Chief Engineer had to say.

"There's a wee bit of a problem there, sir. Unlike the Enterprise, the Franklin was built at a space dock. She was never intended to take off from a planet's gravity."

Sulu cleared his throat.

"Theoretically, there's a way to do it - we just -"

Giving Sulu a look that showed plainly that he considered the Helmsman was out of his mind, Scotty interrupted.

"Aye - there's a key word there. Theoretically. We could just as easily be committing suicide."

Kirk held up a hand to forestall any additional arguing.

"If there is a chance - however slim - we are going to take it. We are not going to remain stranded here and rot on this rock. All I want to know is this - if we're successful, do we have any chance of catching up with the swarm?"

Pausing to do mental calculations in his head, Scotty nodded.

"That should nae be a problem. Ships of that size? They cannae have warp capability. If we can get going, we'll catch the wee buggers."

Kirk looked to the rest of his command crew.

"Any thoughts?"

Spock spoke first.

"Remaining on Altamid is not desirable. I would prefer to die trying to depart then spend the remainder of my life here."

Uhura gave a curt nod.

"I've already been here longer than I care for, sir."

Chekov nodded agreement, but McCoy growled slightly.

"He murdered Syl, one of my ensigns - I want Krall's head. Whatever it takes to get me within range of that bastard? Let's do it."

"You all heard the Doctor. Get the ship ready and let's get the hell out of here, one way or the other."

Despite his words, McCoy felt more than a little queasy when Sulu and Scotty spelled out exactly how the theoretical way of getting off the planet would work. They would need to force the ship into a free-fall from the mountain it was currently resting on and hope that they reached terminal velocity before hitting bottom. If they did? Reaching terminal velocity would act as a kick-start for the engines and provide enough momentum to get them out of the atmosphere. If not? Odds were against any of them surviving the crash.

Since there was no other option, McCoy took up the task of getting the crew to strap in to prepare for leaving. He decided his explanation for the precaution would be that the take-off was going to be rough due to the ship's age - close enough to the truth to avoid detection. Any job that kept his own mind off what was about to happen was for the best.

Kirk headed for the Bridge, leaving Scotty, Jaylah, and Keenser to oversee the final preparations. Scotty took a deep breath and mentally crossed his fingers. Time to put the theory to the ultimate test.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.399

We're going to be trying an extremely risky maneuver to get us the hell off this planet, but I'd rather die trying than die rotting on this rock. If we're successful, Scott says we should be able to catch up to those swarm ships. They have a considerable head start, but they aren't capable of warp speeds.

We'll make it. I refuse to have my plans derailed by Krall. Besides, Bones is very adamant that he wants to spill Krall's blood for what he did to Ensign Syl.


	41. Chapter 41

Staring at the viewscreen, Kirk took a deep breath. The next few minutes would literally determine if he would continue his plans to become emperor or become a forgotten corpse whose only marker was the wreckage of a century old Imperial vessel. He was pleased with how steady his voice was when he gave his orders.

"Time to put those theories to the test, Mister Sulu. Get us the hell off this rock."

"Aye, sir."

As power was channeled to the engines, the ship shuddered as it moved for the first time in decades. Scotty closed his eyes and prayed to whatever higher powers might watch out over engineers and their ships. Jaylah's eyes were fixed on a small viewport though the scrapping sounds as the ship slowly freed itself from the ground made her wince.

It seemed to take longer, but in reality it was only minutes before the ship was teetering on the edge, Sulu gave a final glance to Chekov.

"Everything programmed in? We don't have a margin for error."

A grim nod was his answer.

"When you give the signal, I will be ready."

One more nudge from Sulu's controls and the freefall began. A few jarring hits came as the ship struck rock outcroppings but the real concern was the speed that they were approaching the ground.

"Any time now, Mister Sulu."

"We need just a few more - there! Hit it, Chekov!"

With a roar that sent the area's wildlife running for cover, the Franklin came to life and rocketed out of the atmosphere. At her first look from above Altamid since her family's crash many years before, Jaylah let out the breath she had been holding and didn't even try to prevent the tears that fell.

"You have kept your word, Montgomery Scotty."

"We did this together, lass. Now, let's get out of these chairs and make sure this old gal stays together, eh?"

Now that the problem of leaving the planet had been solved, Kirk turned their attention to the next problem.

"Alright, people - Scott says we'll be able to catch up to the swarm by the time they reach the Yorktown. Question before us is, what do we do once we catch them?"

Uneasy looks were exchanged and the silence hung until the lift doors opened and McCoy emerged, wearing a different uniform top from the last one Kirk had seen him in. Kirk shook his head, looking amused.

"Let me guess - you threw up."

Scowling, McCoy crossed his arms.

"After that stunt you all pulled, you're lucky that's all I did. So - what now?"

"That's what we were just discussing, Bones."

Chekov finally spoke, but his tone was bleak.

"We could not resist them with state of the art equipment. How can we do anything with technology far older?"

Kirk idly bounced his fist on the arm of his chair as he thought.

"What kind of weapons do we have?"

"Spatial torpedoes and pulse phaser cannons, sir. Horse and buggy compared to the Enterprise's arsenal."

"For all the good that arsenal did us."

A sour look was all Kirk gave McCoy for that comment because, like it or not, it was accurate.

"We need a new approach and we need it fast."

Sulu turned slightly in his chair.

"There are simply too many of them. Even if we target them individually, the rest will swarm us the same as they did last time."

"Then we need to find a way to prevent that."

"Hell, Jim - that would take a pretty massive amount of bug repellant."

That unexpected statement from McCoy caused tension to snap and laughter to break out. Still, something in that joke was resonating with Kirk. Now he had to figure out why.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.4

I'm not sure if Sulu or Scott is crazier, but between their insane minds, they got us off the planet and headed toward the Yorktown.

The big question we need to find an answer to between now and reaching them? Figuring how to destroy the swarm. We couldn't do it with the Enterprise and her technology, so how are we going to do it with a ship that's a hundred years older?

No. We can't think that way. There has to be a way for us to take them down.


	42. Chapter 42

The longer Kirk thought over their current situation, the quieter he was getting. Anyone who knew Kirk knew that him going silent was never a good sign. As McCoy was known to phrase it - the quiet before the shit storm hit and took no prisoners. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and measured.

"Alright, people - we need ideas and we need them fast. If Krall and his drones do manage to take over the Yorktown, it doesn't really mattered what that Abronath thing can or can't do. He'll have access to the most state of the art technology available and that alone will make him a force to be reckoned with. We have to stop that from happening."

Chekov spoke first.

"Their attack makes sense now that we have heard from Sulu and Uhura that they are not alive. It would take an incredible amount of coordination between the ships to fly and attack in such close formations."

Scott nodded his agreement.

"Aye, their onboard computers must be connected or they could not respond like they do."

Uhura drew in a sharp breath and everyone turned their attention to her.

"That signal I intercepted. They weren't trying to jam our signals - it was thousands of ships communicating with each other at the same time!"

The word jamming stuck with Kirk and he began to smile.

"Nyota, you might just have hit on our answer. They weren't trying to jam us, but what if we were able to jam them?"

Scotty's eye lit up at the thought.

"Aye, that could do it, sir. As close as they stay to one another, even a small disruption in the signals between them would be catastrophic."

Spock moved to his station and quickly ran some calculations.

"Having the frequency close might cause them some problems, but there would likely still be enough ships unaffected to overwhelm us again. We would need the precise frequency for this to work and the only way I can see for us to do that would be for one of us to transport onto one of the assault vessels and tap directly into their communications channel. Under the circumstances, I believe that I am the only one suited for such a mission as I have briefly been aboard one of the ships before and have a vast enough knowledge of computer and communications systems to be able to find the required data quickly."

Before Spock had even finished speaking, Uhura was shaking her head.

"You're still recovering from a pretty serious injury."

Sighing, Kirk nodded.

"She has a valid point. Getting you onto one of the ships won't do us any good if you take a hit in the wrong place and can't keep going."

Spock hesitated briefly - a rare enough occurrence that it silenced the others.

"If that is the primary concern, perhaps this will need to be a two-man mission. There is one other among us with experience onboard one of the swarm ships."

Verging between amused and annoyed as it dawned on Kirk that Spock was referring to McCoy, he ultimately acknowledged that, like it or not, this had to be done for them to have any chance of survival. Letting out a rueful chuckle, Kirk shook his head.

"Oh, he's going to love this."

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.401

One thing Spock, Scott and Chekov all agree on is that the swarm ships fly too closely to one another and respond in too coordinated a fashion to be solely attributed to piloting skills. The ships must be communicating to one another in some fashion. Uhura jumped in then and reminded us about what she had thought was a jamming signal. If that noise was actually their communications, we might have just found our way in.

If we can overwhelm their systems during an attack, their own attack patterns will destroy them for us.

* * *

McCoy didn't take being volunteered for the mission quietly, but then, no-one expected him to. Kirk simply held up a hand - they weren't quite close enough to attempt the teleport, so he shifted the topic.

"Assuming Bones and Spock are successful and get the frequency for us, what's our next step?"

Uhura tapped a nail against her forearm as she thought.

"We would need to broadcast something unexpected - something that would immediately overwhelm them and make it difficult for them to react."

Scotty glanced over to Jaylah and smiled again.

"Something loud and unexpected, aye? The lass here has just the thing. Jaylah, go fetch your beats and shouting."

Understanding, Jaylah hurried off to retrieve the unit from the Engineering area as Scotty headed off with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to the transporter room. Sulu would signal them with the coordinates as soon as they had one of the swarm ships in range.

Still grumbling, McCoy turned his attention to Spock.

"Do you really believe this fool mission will accomplish anything beyond getting ourselves killed?"

Spock didn't slow his stride as he answered.

"If we cannot find a way to defeat the swarm, we will eventually be killed regardless of what we do or do not do. It is illogical to simply wait for death as long as any chance, however slight, of evading it remains open to us."

McCoy's body language shifted subtly and he nodded.

"If I have to go, I'd prefer to take as many of those bastards with me when I do. You do remember that we crashed in the last one of those things we were in."

"This time, you have prior experience plus you have the advantage of knowing that you will be boarding the craft in advance."

Stepping onto the transporter deck, McCoy nodded grimly, then looked at Kirk.

"We survive this? I want a vacation. A good one."

"We survive? You've got it."

Sulu's voice came across the intercom and Scotty quickly loaded in the coordinates.

"Good luck, lads."

Transporting from one moving vehicle to another using ancient technology - as he felt the effects of the transporter beam begin, McCoy closed his eyes, sincerely unsure if he would ever open them again.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.403

We need to get inside one of swarm ships to get the frequency we need. Much as I don't care for it, Bones and Spock are going to make the attempt. I need Sulu, Chekov and Scott to stay here and keep this antique moving.

Jaylah knows the audio files of the Franklin and calls her favorite selections beat and shouting. Scott says he's heard her taste in music and that if that doesn't overwhelm the swarm's signal, nothing will. Like or not, we'll find out the hard way.


	43. Chapter 43

To McCoy's shock and great relief, the pinpoint teleport worked and within seconds, Spock had ejected the swarm ship's original pilot. Spock quickly began familiarizing himself with the onboard computers as McCoy took the position of pilot.

After a couple of minutes, Spock contacted the Enterprise.

"Captain, we have successfully boarded and have the information. The swarm communicates at the frequency of 57.7 megahertz. I am currently disabling the communications between this ship and the remainder of the swarm so that we will not be affected when Mister Scott begins his broadcast to disrupt the swarm."

"Excellent, Mister Spock. Send us a signal when you've finished and we'll begin."

In a hold pattern until everything was ready, Kirk took a moment to update his log.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.405

Even with this old technology, Scott managed to pull off a precision teleport to get Spock and Bones inside one of the swarm ships. They got rid of the ship's pilot quickly and have already sent us the frequency that we'll need to transmit on to interrupt the swarm interactions - 57.7 megahertz.

Spock is currently in the process of disabling the receiver on their swarm ship so that it won't be affected. Once Spock signals that he's finished, we'll draw the swarm's attention and make some noise.

* * *

A noise from the lift caught Kirk's attention and he found himself amused by the way Jaylah was scolding Scott as the two came back to the Bridge, hauling the equipment that would hopefully be their key to survival.

"Do not break my beats and shouting, Montgomery Scotty! Here, let me have that -"

"Settle down, lass - I've worked with gear longer than you've been alive. Come one - we'll set it up over here."

Looking over, Kirk saw Uhura was looking equally amused.

"And you people say that Bones and I bicker like an old married couple."

Uhura gave an unconcerned shrug.

"You do. But you have competition now, it seems."

Scott shot them both an exasperated look before getting down on the deck and starting to wire in the gear despite Jaylah's continuing rant that she should be the one doing it. When one of his attempts caused the panel to spark and shock him, he finally gave in. He had a hard time ignoring the smug look on Jaylah's face when she had the system connected in less than a minute.

Still looking put out, Scott called over to the Captain.

"Ready when you want us to start, sir."

Then Scott looked back to Jaylah.

"Do you have the music picked out?"

Smirking, Jaylah made a final adjustment.

"I have the beats and shouting ready."

Uhura called out.

"I'm intercepting reports from the Yorktown - they are close to being breached by the swarm ships, sir."

The signal came from Spock and Kirk gave a nod to Sulu.

"Let's go in and get their attention, Mister Sulu."

Sulu and Chekov exchanged glances and then began maneuvering closer. It only took a few strikes on the rear ships to see a chance occur - seemingly all at once.

Chekov's voice was noticeably nervous as he reported.

"The swarm ships are doubling back, Captain. They appear to be forming an attack wave."

The smile on Kirk's face was grim.

"Good work on getting their attention. Now we see if we can survive it. Everyone stand by."

The entire Bridge crew seemed to be holding their breath as the wave of swarm ships quickly filled the viewscreen and cut off any other view. Slowly counting to three, Kirk took a deep breath as his eyes remained fixed ahead of him.

"Now - make some noise."

Jaylah pressed the button and the music began - it was Terran from the late 20th century, a classical hard rock from a band that Kirk was rather fond of and a smile formed on his face as he recognized it.

"Good choice."

The effects of the broadcast were swiftly evident. Not only did the interference in the coordinating signals cause some of the swarm ships to collide with one another, those closest to the Franklin - the source of the broadcast - had their systems overloaded to the point that they exploded. Kirk was extremely pleased and ordered his helmsmen to get closer and wipe out more of the ships. The malicious smiles on the faces of Chekov and Sulu showed their own pleasure at those orders.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.406

Jaylah was pretty accurate in describing the music as beat and shouting. I liked it and I liked it even better when I saw the effect it had on the swarm ships. Chekov and Sulu were openly scoffing at how obvious it was that the pilots in the swarm ships were too used to letting the ships do all of the work. Their lack of skill was to our advantage. It was a textbook example of a domino effect.

After this is over, we'll have to show the explosions recording to the crew.

* * *

It was plain to see that Sulu and Chekov had fully gotten fully used to the Franklin's technology as they dove into the swarm and dealt handily with the resukting turbulence causesd by the explosions happening all around them. The catastrophic effect caused as their ship got closer to the swarm was gratifying, but Kirk wanted more and it suddenly occurred to him how to get it.

"Uhura - let's let the Yorktown in on the fun. Send them an audio file of Jaylah's beats and shouting along with the frequency to broadcast it on."

Jaylah was standing by her machine and watching the large number of exploding swarm ships with great satisfaction. When the Yorktown received Uhura's message, the ensuing explosions filled the viewscreen.

* * *

On their commandeered swarm ship, Spock and McCoy had their hands full keeping one step ahead of the exploding vessels all around them. Spock had his full attention on the computer readouts.

"There are a few ships that do not seem affected. They must be on a different frequency."

McCoy couldn't look away as he was having to make constant adjustments to their flight path to avoid debris, but he had his own thoughts on that matter.

"I'd be willing to bet my best bourbon that Krall is on one of those damn ships."

"That seems logical, Doctor - he and the other two ships are headed for the weakened area of the Yorktown's outer hull. We must not let them out of sight."

"I hear you - Altering course to follow them in now. Best let Jim know what's up. I'd be willing to bet their sensors can't keep up with all the explosions between them and the Yorktown. And you might ask him to mention to the station that we're in one of these buggies in case they decide to start shooting."

"A sensible precaution."

Spock quickly contacted the Enterprise and Kirk had Uhura patch him through to Commander Paris, passing along the warning that their hull had been breeched, but that one of the swarm ships was under his people's control. She gave the order not to fire on any of the remaining swarm ships, effectively turning over the defense of the station to Kirk. That brought a smirk to his face - good decision on her part. After all, he fully intended that the base - and the ship being built inside that he coveted - survived.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.407

Uhura transmitted the frequency and an audio file of what we were transmitting to Yorktown. Once they started to broadcast, we went from dealing with thousands to less than a dozen swarm ships. Those few remaining seem to be the only ones that had actual skilled pilots and I would be willing to wager that Krall is on one of them.

I've had Uhura send Commander Paris the warning that some of the swarm ships are making it inside. I asked her not to fire at them as one is under our control.


	44. Chapter 44

The Franklin followed in the wake of the swarm ships, entering the Yorktown and causing considerable damage on the way. Kirk was unconcerned - after all, if they didn't stop Krall in time, repairing the station would be the least of their problems.

In between the Franklin and Krall's three remaining swarm ships was the swarm ship with McCoy and Spock aboard. Spock studied the movements of the three ships, then called over to McCoy.

"Doctor, the lead ship is the one initiating moves and the other two follow suit almost immediately."

"Are you with me that those readings mean the lead ship is the one that Krall is flying?"

"That would be my supposition from the facts, Doctor."

"Great. Man the guns, Spock. Get rid of his wingmen, but Krall's mine."

There were times when Spock would argue with McCoy - when the doctor was after blood was never one of those times.

"Agreed."

By this point, McCoy had become adept at maneuvering the swarm ship and quickly got Spock into position for the first of their two targets. The weapon targeting system was unfamiliar to Spock and it took him three shots to take down the first ship. However, only one shot was necessary for the second.

* * *

In what had been the lead ship, Krall cursed as one then the other of his remaining ships exploded behind him. A saner man would have acknowledged the futility of continuing, but Krall had left sanity far behind him on the day he first picked up the piece of the Abronath. All he had to do was find the rest of it and victory would still be his - the Empire that had left them to die would itself die. The naïve man - the loyal Captain - he had once been and his crew would all be avenged.

A smile formed on his face as he envisioned the destruction to come, but he was broken from those dreams as his old ship suddenly erupted from the waters right in front of him. Cursing again, he ejected mere seconds before his swarm ship collided with the underside of the ISS Franklin and was slammed against the water.

* * *

McCoy's eyes narrowed.

"Krall ejected. Do you have a location on where he landed?"

"I do - but we will not have much time before we lose him. Spock to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here - go ahead, Spock."

"Krall is still on the loose, Sir. Doctor McCoy and I are in pursuit."

Uhura broke in on the communication.

"Don't allow him to get his hands on you. He's somehow able to drain the life-force out of others."

McCoy looked for a place to land the swarm ship as he acknowledged Uhura's warning.

"That explains the condition of some of the bodies I saw. Thanks, Ny."

The landing was rough enough to cause Spock's injury to flare up with pain, but fortunately the repair held this time. Still, he was well behind McCoy. Not wasting breath to curse at the doctor, Spock hurried as best he could to catch up.

Krall wasn't hard to track. For one thing, he had the outer circle of the Abronath clutched in one hand. For another, the Yorktown personnel were parting like a flock of sheep that had suddenly noticed a wolf in their midst. Despite the circumstance, McCoy was rather heartened to see that self-preservation instincts were still strong in most of the Imperial races.

Back on the Franklin's bridge, Kirk was scowling.

"Where is Krall going? He doesn't know where the Fibonan artifact is being kept."

Jaylah was frowning as well, either not noticing or not paying attention to the various sharp intakes of air around her as she casually leaned against the back of the Captain's chair.

"Perhaps he does not need to know, James Tee. If the Abronath is as powerful as Krall thinks, might not the pieces pull to one another?"

Scott had been coming closer to try and move Jaylah before her positioning annoyed Kirk, but he stopped in his tracks and looked thoughtful for a minute before speaking.

"The lass may have a point, Captain. That would go a long way to explaining why the two pieces were not only taken apart, but left in areas far away from one another."

Turning in his chair, Sulu spoke up.

"Mister Spock believes the artifact originated on Altamid. We examined a lot of that area, but didn't see anything even close to anti-matter technology."

Uhura saw where Sulu was going and nodded, her excitement showing clearly in her voice.

"The Abronath's creators had no way to destroy either piece, but we do. If Commander Paris can get her half of the Abronath to us -"

A smile reformed on Kirk's face.

"We can feed it to the Franklin's engines and destroy it on a molecular level. Get me the Yorktown on the screen."

Uhura had begun working on the connection before Kirk had finished speaking. Commander Paris was already in her office and, within minutes, Scott had the coordinates and teleported the Abronath's heart directly from Paris' office to the matter chamber. There was no question of when the piece connected with the anti-matter as the Franklin's internal lights and panels all went to full brightness. Kirk was duly impressed as Scott reported all the Franklin's energy levels were now at maximum.

"Looks like Krall was right about the amount of power that thing held."

When the Abronath's heart was first teleported away, Krall's forward progress came to a dead stop, giving McCoy the opportunity to get closer. Krall was still staring at the circle in his hand as the heart was destroyed and the circle stopped speaking in his head.

Spinning in fury, he saw McCoy and screamed.

"What have you done!?"

Spock quickened his pace as Krall launched himself at the doctor - fortunately Krall's intent seemed more to assault than to drain as he used his now useless half of the Abronath to strike. Spock didn't manage to prevent the first blow, but his tackle from the side prevented Krall from landing a second one.

When Spock glanced up, it was difficult to ascertain how badly McCoy was hurt, but the doctor's left eye was obscured by the blood coming from his forehead. Still, McCoy seemed not to even notice as he approached the downed Krall, withdrawing a scalpel as he drew near.

"Keep him down just a minute longer, Spock."

Oddly, Spock found that Krall had stopped struggling and was now laying on his back, staring above him and babbling the name Balthazar - a name that struck Spock as vaguely familiar, though he was unable to connect it at the moment. He supposed it didn't make a great deal of difference as McCoy drove his scalpel through Krall's right eye socket and into his brain. While saying that Krall died instantly wasn't precisely correct, the time differential was hardly worth mentioning.

By the time McCoy jerked his scalpel free again, they were being surrounded, but this time, it was by the crew keeping the Yorktown personnel at bay. Only the command crew and medical staff were allowed past their lines with Kirk leading the way.

Adrenaline spent, McCoy sat heavily next to Spock, eyeing the Vulcan critically with his unbloodied eye.

"Messed up my last repair job with that tackle, didn't you? Well, lucky for you, we're back where I can get my hands on some decent equipment and do the job right."

Kirk had reached them by that time and put his hand under McCoy's chin, tilting the doctor's head up to get a better look before calling the nurses over.

"Get them both to the medical center. Nobody but our people touch either of them - understand?"

"Of course, Captain."

Ever efficient Chapel had already arranged for a pair of anti-grav gurneys and the two men were quickly moved to them as the rest of the nursing staff, including Gem, flanked the gurneys as they headed for the Yorktown's medical center, passing Paris as she moved to greet Kirk, her eyes taking in the old Imperial ship.

"Might I assume this is going to be a long story, James?"

Kirk gave her a wicked grin.

"Shohreh? You have no idea. If you want to hear it, I need a drink. Several, in fact."

Paris paused long enough to give the orders for accommodations to be arranged for the crew, then gestured for Kirk to accompany her.

"I think both the story and the drinking will be best done in my quarters."

Kirk didn't disagree.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.41

Things were happening pretty fast and heavy for awhile, but we've reached the point where we can catch our breath.

The important things are that the swarm was destroyed, Krall is dead, that Fibonian thing that Krall called the Abronath has been destroyed and I didn't lose any of my core group of officers. Gem is clinging to Bones and the rest of his staff isn't that much further from him.

Bones has an interestingly shaped wound on his forehead. I wonder if I can convince him to let it scar?


	45. Chapter 45

Kirk started to follow Paris, but hesitated enough that she gave him a curious glance.

"I'd better take a minute and make sure my people are settled in Medical. I'd hate to have any of McCoy's nurses dissect any of your people because of misunderstanding."

Paris laughed and nodded.

"If I'm being truthful, there are a few things I should attend to as well. You know your way to my quarters. Why don't we meet there in say, an hour? I'll arrange for food as well."

Sounds perfect. See you in an hour then."

As he headed toward the Yorktown's medical center, Kirk was pleased to remember that McCoy already approved of his relationship - such as it was - with Paris. One less complication to bother with.

Finding McCoy wasn't difficult - he simply had to look for the knot of nurses. To his surprise, Gem was being comforted by Gaila, who saw his glance.

"Sensory overload. She's surrounded by millions who are still processing that they've survived a near-death experience. Some races tend to get a bit . . . elated in the aftermath."

From the side, McCoy's voice joined in.

"In other words, there's likely to be a population boom in the Yorktown's future."

Laughing, Kirk gave Gem's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before moving to McCoy's side. The blood had been cleaned from his face and the mark left by Krall's blow was even more appealing.

"You know, you really should consider letting this one scar. It's a good one from what should be a memorable kill."

The snort wasn't a loud one and after a minute, McCoy shrugged.

"Maybe. Just don't expect me to start a collection."

"Naw. Too many scars and the good ones don't stand out like they should. How's Spock doing?"

"I have Chapel protecting him and getting him prepped until Gem is steady enough to take care of me. Don't trust anyone else to work on him."

"Good. If you need me to run interference or to kill someone, I'll be with Paris."

That earned him a small smirk from McCoy.

"Of course you will be. Don't play too rough - been a damn stressful week."

"That's an understatement."

After leaving McCoy's side, Kirk briefly stopped by Gaila and Gem again before checking in with the rest of his core group. By then, it was time to rejoin Paris. He could tell by the smell when he walked in that she had remembered his enjoyment of a good, old-fashioned cheeseburger. Paris waited until he had finished before she picked up a PADD and offered it to him. Instead of taking it immediately, Kirk looked from it to her.

"You want me to do paperwork? Now?"

Her laughter was light as she shook her head. Then as he watched, she ran her hands over the controls that he knew would activate her personal systems to insure their privacy.

"You won't need to fill out anything. These are simply two work orders I thought might interest you."

Curiosity tweaked, Kirk took the offered PADD and looked at the first work order. After scanning it briefly, he began to smile.

"You've ordered your people to repair and upgrade the Franklin?"

"Yes. Actual starships are still in fairly short supply since Nero. A few ships were rushed out, of course, but they aren't quality vessels that will be good for much other than show. In surviving everything she has, I think the Franklin has shown her mettle."

Nodding, Kirk switched to the second work order, then froze briefly before breaking out in an even wider smile. Paris smiled as well.

"Our work-in-progress has a name now - the ISS Enterprise-A. The designations should be in place on her by next week."

Picking up her glass, she continued.

"I would suggest you confer with your Mister Scott tomorrow. The sooner you let the construction crew know of any design changes you want, the sooner the ship will be completed and you'll be in the Captain's Chair again . . . my Lord."

Nothing more needed to be said as he tossed the PADD to the side and moved to claim her. Few things were as powerful an aphrodisiac to him as power and she had just laid the Yorktown station at his feet. Once close enough, he spoke softly in her ear.

"And exactly what are you looking for in return for your fealty?"

Paris knew that this would be her one and only chance - and she was ready to take it.

"I want to remain in control of the Yorktown, but when the current Emperor learns what is happening, I'll need backup - and protection - to keep it and maintain it for you."

He pulled back and she found his blue eyes were studying her closely.

"That doesn't sound like much."

"Doesn't it? This station is larger - and better equipped - than most planets. I control the most technologically advanced ship construction facility in the Empire."

"And when the day comes that a bigger, better station is built?"

"By then, I will have proven to my Emperor that there is no-one under his command better suited to run it for him."

Leaning back enough to remove and toss his uniform top to the side, Kirk chuckled darkly.

"And you have no desire to be your Emperor's consort?"

She took a few moments to let down her hair and then used her hands to shake it loose.

"My Emperor already has a consort. As for women? At court, I would be one of thousands. Here I would be unique. Though still available for my Emperor's whims should he desire."

"You would be unique in any setting, Shohreh. But I agree that this is the setting that suits you best. You don't ever think about captaining a ship again?"

Reaching out, she ran her hands down his chest.

"I had my time on the Bridge. Do I think about it now and then? Surely, but with fond remembrances and not longing. I would, of course, serve wherever I was needed, but as the old saying goes - I've been there and done that."

It was about the time that her hands reached his waist that Kirk decided he had far better things to do for now than discuss Shohreh's future career options.

* * *

Captain's Log - Stardate 2262.414

If he had a grave, Krall would probably be turning in it. Commander Paris put the ISS Franklin into a repair bay and will not only patch her up, but upgrade her as well. If that wasn't enough to start Krall spinning, Paris is ignoring Imperial orders and turning that beautiful ship that's being built over to me and has already given her a name - the ISS Enterprise-A.

For all intents and purposes, the Yorktown station is also now part of my Empire. I'm sending coded messages to my allies.


	46. Chapter 46

A week passed. None of the survivors of the ISS Enterprise were still left in Medical and Kirk had been very pleased to see that McCoy had kept the scar on his forehead. Interestingly enough, it didn't look like a new scar, but rather like one that he'd had for years. That led him to wondering if Gem had learned a new trick and he made a note to ask about it later. For now though? He had more important things on his mind.

Moving to the viewport with his core group following him, Kirk was impressed with himself that he had managed to keep the naming of the new ship to himself. He hadn't even told McCoy. Of course, it had helped that McCoy had been busy all week.

Commander Paris was waiting on them, a faint smile on her lips. The viewport windows were currently reflective so that the ship couldn't currently be seen. Kirk directed his people to where he wanted them, then gave Paris a slight nod.

After she adjusted the controls to allow the ship to be seen, it was only a matter of seconds before Scott drew in his breath sharply. The rest of them weren't far behind and Pavel actually cheered - much to his personal embarrassment and the amusement of the others. As the impromptu celebration broke out, Kirk kept his gaze fixed on his new Lady as he listened to the chatter around him.

Spock and McCoy had a new debate going and the rest of the core group was close to evenly divided on the issue. Spock had mentioned that Krall had been saying the name Balthazar near the end and his conjecture was that Krall and Balthazar Edison, the last Captain of the ISS Franklin, were somehow the same person. McCoy and Uhura had taken a different view - Krall changed somewhat every time that he absorbed a life force. Taking that into consideration, Krall must have absorbed Captain Edison's life force and the man's forceful will must have warped Krall to the point that the Empire became an obsession with him. Staying out of the main debate, Scott poured drinks for everyone as he pointed out that whichever way Krall was formed, the bastard was now dead and no longer of any importance..

Looking over to Kirk and Paris, Scott also ventured the opinion that the remaining half of the Abronath should be fed to the Yorktown's mater/anti-matter chamber to nip any further problems with the device in the bud. There was no argument against it - as Spock pointed out, with one half now destroyed, there was no guarantee that the other half might not become unstable. With no reason to delay it, it was decided to go ahead and destroy it immediately.

Intellectually, Kirk was aware that events were starting to spin faster. His ambitions couldn't stay hidden from the Emperor much longer. He had been the youngest Imperial Captain, he would become the youngest Emperor to take the throne by means other than inheritance. McCoy was of the opinion that was a major part of the problem with their current Emperor - he had inherited the throne and had never had to fight for it, not even with siblings. His initial set of advisors that he had inherited from his father had helped hold everything together, but he gradually replaced them and when the final one died, there was nothing left among his advisers but flatterers and yes-men who seemed to care little about the Empire as a whole so long as their own coffers were full.

A familiar voice broke into his thoughts.

"Looks like you're thinking about something awfully hard, Jim."

Turning to McCoy, Kirk smiled slightly.

"Thinking about loose ends, Bones. I've already sent coded messages to T'Pau, Karhammur, and N'alea. Now I suppose the question is - what's next?"

McCoy turned just enough to gesture toward the viewport.

"Next? We lay low until that tin-can is ready to leave dock. Then we'll have the fastest ship with the most fire power in the Fleet again - plus the other two ships we've collected. You've already got more powerful allies backing you than the Emperor does and two space stations to back you as well. Just a little more patience, Jim. You almost have all your chess pieces where they need to be and then?"

Kirk's eyes glittered at the thought.

"Checkmate."

* * *

 **Space - the last frontier.**

 **These are the continuing voyages of the crew of the ISS Enterprise.**

 **Their mission :**

 **To exploit strange new worlds,**

 **To subjugate new life forms and new civilizations,**

 **To boldly pave the way for a new and stronger Empire.**


End file.
